Chapter 179: Daenerys Riding a Dragon and Running Away

In a corner of the Merchant's House, Jenos Bracken, Lyman Reyne, Hans Reyne, and others, who were idly drinking, all turned their gazes toward Jorah Mormont as he entered the shop.

After setting sail from Saltpans, this group had drifted all the way to Pentos, and after another month or so, had traveled by sea to Volantis.

But because the situation in Slaver's Bay was volatile, no ships here dared to go to Meereen, and not even a single captain was willing to go to Astapor at the southernmost tip of Slaver's Bay, as it was currently ruled by the Butcher King Koleon.

This group had been resting here for nearly a week, and just as they were at a loss and visiting the tavern all day to scout for news, they saw Jorah Mormont, who had also come to Volantis to investigate the situation in Westeros.

Hans whispered to his kinsman and Jiaodu, Lyman: "That is him, Jorah, the Lord of Bear Island. I met him once when I was fighting at Paike Cheng."

During the Greyjoy Rebellion, Jorah Mormont was knighted for his bravery in battle. Later, at the tourney held in Lannisport to celebrate the victory, Ser Jorah won an almost impossible match, claimed the crown of love and beauty, and presented it to Lynesse Hightower.

That night, he asked Earl Leyton Hightower for her hand, and thus married the spendthrift Lynesse. What followed was quite tragic.

The lands of The North were barren and not rich in produce, so Ser Jorah quickly spent his family's savings, yet his wife still maintained a high standard of living.

To make money, Jorah was forced to sell poachers to the Tyroshi as slaves, which was illegal.

To avoid joining the Night's Watch or being beheaded by Duke Eddard, he had no choice but to go into exile with his wife.

Unable to bear the life of exile, Lynesse soon betrayed him and took up with a prince from Lys.

Jenos shook his head and sighed: "A poor Earl, with a decent-sized fief, ruined to this extent by a woman."

He was on the verge of losing his own lands, so he felt an unusual sympathy for Ser Jorah.

Little Lyman rolled his eyes: "I heard he is fighting for the Dragon Queen Daenerys; why don't we go and make contact?"

Since Jorah could come here from Meereen, he naturally had a ship to return on; Little Lyman's idea was to hitch a ride.

"Very well!" Jenos Bracken nodded, then ordered Hans to go alone and summon Jorah and his party.

Among this group, he was the oldest and had previously held the highest status, so he was vaguely treated as the leader.

Just as Jorah and his companions had found an empty table and sat down under the gaze of everyone in the tavern, they saw a middle-aged warrior walking toward them.

"I greet you on behalf of my lord, Earl Jorah Mormont. Might you be willing to step aside and have a drink with my lord?" Hans said politely.

Jorah the Bear looked in the direction the middle-aged warrior had come from and caught sight of two people dressed as Westerosi nobles, one large and one small, along with several of their attendants.

The older noble had black-brown hair, black eyes, and was not particularly tall; he was a standard descendant of the First Men, and his proud bearing was written on his face.

Although the sigils on their clothing were hidden, one could tell at a glance that they were high-ranking nobles of long standing.

Since most of the First Men nobility of Westeros were in The North, as a Northerner, Jorah recognized such high-level Northern Earls to some extent.

Then this person could only be a Jiaodu of the First Men from the Riverlands or The Vale.

He knew Bronze Yohn of House Royce, and the Earl of Blackwood at Raventree Hall did not seem to have black eyes, so...

Jorah the Bear had already roughly guessed who this person was.

"No problem."

He first nodded to the middle-aged warrior Hans, then ordered the mercenaries accompanying him to order some food at this table, and then went with the middle-aged warrior to where Jenos Bracken was.

"May the gods preserve you, Ser Jorah."

Jenos and the others greeted the Bear first.

"And you as well, Lord Jenos."

Jorah was not reserved; after exchanging greetings and nodding to Little Lyman, he sat down and reached out to pour himself a glass of wine that looked quite expensive.

Seeing that the Lord of Bear Island had guessed his identity, Old Bracken went straight to the topic, asking if the Bear could take their group to see Queen Daenerys.

"No problem, as long as you tell me the situation in Westeros in detail. My Queen is currently lacking in such knowledge."

After taking a deep drink of the wine, Jorah set his conditions.

The situation was something everyone knew and did not need to be kept secret; Jenos and Little Lyman spoke one after another, telling Jorah Mormont directly about the situation on the Western Continent.

"... That is how it is; House Targaryen already has the firm support of the Riverlands and The Reach, and Dorne and The North will also submit before long."

Jenos pointed at Jorah, then at himself, and whispered: "As long as the Dragon Queen behind you and Arthur I join forces, restoring the glory of the Targaryen Dynasty will be like..."

Although his grand-nephew Arthur had already taken King's Landing and had secured the support of the powerful Reachmen, Jenos, having received no orders, decided to stick to the original plan.

So he revealed on the spot a hint of Arthur's intention to form an alliance with Daenerys Stormborn.

Jorah looked at the group he had encountered in surprise, wondering if it could really be such a coincidence.

So he also whispered: "There are too many people here; let's go, let's go inside."

After drinking another glass, Jorah returned to his original seat.

The two groups pretended they had just met and left the Merchant's House one after the other.

In the inn where Jenos and the others were staying, Jorah talked in detail with Arthur's delegation for an entire afternoon, until the sun slanted to the west.

"As it happens, my Queen also intends to form an alliance with the Dragon Party forces in Westeros."

Because he had completed the task assigned by the Queen ahead of schedule and might have secured a reliable ally, Jorah was currently very happy.

"Let's head back now and tell Arthur I the situation in the Western Continent..."

The more the Bear spoke, the more he felt something was wrong; if the Queen were to ally with the Dragonrider just like that, how would the Iron Throne be divided?

Could one chair seat two people?

Moreover, Jorah had his own little thoughts; he also wanted to marry the Queen.

If the situation were reported back to Meereen now and a covenant were signed between the two sides, according to the traditions of House Targaryen, Queen Daenerys would likely have to marry that Arthur.

"But the situation in Volantis is unclear; if the newly elected Triarchs are two tigers and one elephant, or even three tigers, then the Queen's road home will naturally be fraught with obstacles," the Bear said, pretending to be concerned for Daenerys.

"Then what should we do? Shall we wait for the election in Volantis to end?" Little Lyman asked bluntly.

After pondering for a moment, Jorah Mormont replied: "You are right, Little Lord; in any case, the election is not far off, so we shall just wait. When the time comes, we will bring the definitive news back to Meereen and let my Queen decide."

He kept emphasizing "my Queen" in front of these Riverland nobles, trying to distance the two groups.

A Queen and a King who had already occupied King's Landing were like two tigers in the mountains; it was highly likely they could not coexist.

The seasoned Jenos sensed the shift in Jorah Mormont's attitude and pretended to agree: "The Ser is absolutely right; we have plenty of time anyway, so we might as well stay here and wait. By the way, where are you staying? Do you need us to arrange rooms for you?"

Jorah had a guilty conscience and naturally did not want to have too much contact with this group, so he politely declined the offer and left the inn with his men.

After Little Lyman and the others saw their guest out, Jenos called Little Lyman and Hans, who had the authority to participate in the decision-making, into his room.

"You heard what he said before and after, right? Changing his tune so suddenly, there must be a reason," old Bracken stroked his bald chin and analyzed.

Young Lyman was still reflecting, but Hans nodded in agreement with the lord: "Indeed, he certainly changed his tune. Although it is possible for Volantis to let the Tiger Party take power, if the Stormborn leaves Slaver's Bay, then the Dragon Queen has no major conflict with this place, at most just blocking the road. What's more, the followers of the Red God here have practically come to view Daenerys as the reincarnation of the savior; with the influence of R'hllor in Volantis, it is unlikely the Triarchs would go to war with the Dragon Queen."

The faith of the Volantenes is very mixed; the nobles living in the Eastern District are often followers of the ancient gods of Valyria, and the three Magisters usually come from here.

But the influence of the Lord of Light, R'hllor, is also not insignificant. Among the one hundred thousand Tiger Cloaks here, about half are followers of R'hllor, and the largest temple of the Lord of Light in the whole world—the Temple of R'hllor—is also in Volantis, where the High Priest of the Red God, Bennero, resides permanently.

After being reminded, young Lyman also reacted, so he echoed his two companions: "It seems this Ser Jorah is not reliable; we might as well go directly to find the Stormborn."

It is very impolite to address kings or liege lords by their names directly, but the Dragon Queen is not their king, so this group often refers to Daenerys as the Stormborn.

Janos waved his hand gently, "No, we have no ships, how are we to go to Slaver's Bay? Priest Bennero of the Temple of R'hllor firmly believes that the Stormborn is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai and the hero who will save the world. I think they would be very happy to do something for the Dragon Queen."

In Westeros, there are ravens for long-distance information transmission, and in the Free Cities, where interactions are even more frequent, there must be a mature communication system.

So Janos's idea was to have the high-ranking High Priest of the Red God help deliver a letter, presenting Arthur I's thoughts and conditions directly before Daenerys.

If possible, Janos also wanted to meet the Dragon Queen in person, so that later, when speaking of it, he would have an explanation for his nephew.

This group was here to do exactly this, so they took action under the cover of night, went to the DC district to find the Temple of R'hllor, and after reporting their intentions to the "Fiery Hand," the Faith Militant of the Lord of Light, they were granted an audience with High Priest Bennero.

……

King's Landing, Red Keep, Margaery's room in Maegor's Holdfast.

Dozens of candles burned in their holders, dispelling the darkness of the room.

A female shoemaker's apprentice was measuring the size of Margaery's feet to complete the strange shoes requested by the King.

Arthur stared at Margaery's beautiful feet without blinking.

The Little Rose possessed a pair of snow-white, crystalline feet, like the most beautiful crystal; the flesh on the instep seemed transparent, faintly revealing a few blue veins, and the nails of the ten toes were pale red, like small flower petals.

Because she did not walk often and maintained them well, Lady Tyrell's beautiful feet looked very alluring.

This was a standard Greek foot, meaning the middle toes protrude slightly more than the big toe.

It is said that Greek feet are prone to producing beauties, but there is also a theory that this is an unhealthy foot shape.

But regardless, Greek feet are more suitable for High Heels than the Egyptian foot, where the big toe is the most prominent, or the Roman foot, where the toes are level.

"Your Grace! Are these so-called High Heels uncomfortable to wear?" Margaery questioned.

Although she had never actually seen them, based solely on her fiancé's description, the Little Rose felt this should be a form of torture, not expensive shoes that noble ladies and misses should wear.

Reluctantly withdrawing his gaze, Arthur replied: "You will know later; High Heels will be one of my greatest inventions."

Among his three women, Arianne was the shortest, Margaery was second, and Sansa was the tallest.

Among them, Sansa was about half a head shorter than him, Margaery only reached Arthur's chin, which was one head shorter than him, and the Princess of Dorne was another head shorter than Margaery, reaching only about Arthur's Adam's apple.

So, in order to reduce the height difference between Margaery and himself at the wedding, and also to add some peculiar interests, Arthur I had someone find this female shoemaker's apprentice.

In King's Landing, master shoemakers and top tailors are generally men, and very few women work in these two professions, so finding this female apprentice took quite a bit of effort from Arthur.

Margaery shook her head, but upon thinking that these shoes might shorten the height difference between her and her fiancé, she agreed to let the shoemaker make the torture device for her.

The Little Rose did not expect that in the days to come, she would always wear the torture device created by the King and regard it as a symbol of nobility.

Afterwards, amidst the fashion sparked by several queens wearing High Heels every day, the High Heels "invented" by His Majesty Arthur I began to sweep through the noble class of the entire Westeros, and remained popular in the Free Cities and as far away as Qarth, Yi Ti, and Asshai.

Even the Emperor of Yi Ti, in order to purchase authentic Western Continent High Heels, silk stockings, and lace maid outfits, left behind a famous saying:

Even if knowledge is far away in Westeros, one must seek it!

After the female apprentice finished measuring the size and noted all of His Majesty the King's requirements, she turned and left under the guidance of the servants of the Red Keep.

Only the barefoot Margaery and Arthur I remained in the room; it looked like something was going to happen tonight.

……

Meereen, in the top-floor palace of the Great Pyramid.

Daenerys, in a tight-fitting robe, was discussing the situation with her Small Council.

Old Ser Barristan reported the war situation in the south to everyone: "The Butcher King of Astapor has been killed by the alliance of Yunkai and New Ghis, and the coalition army is preparing to move north. Matalisi has also sent an army marching east; it is rumored that this army is not lacking in two-headed warriors..."

Grey Worm, who was responsible for maintaining order in Meereen—the supreme commander of the eight-thousand-strong Unsullied legion—also reported the situation in the city to the Queen.

"Since you broke the shackles of the slaves, the new Free Folk have gained the right to control their own lives, but they do not know what to do, which has caused chaos in the city."

"In addition, the Sons of the Harpy in the city are also assassinating our new Free Folk, Unsullied, and mercenaries; the brothers say the work is very difficult."

An organization called the Sons of the Harpy was secretly established, with the purpose of overthrowing Queen Daenerys's rule.

"Among the batch of refugees from the south that you ordered to be accepted, some brought the Blood Plague, and there is already a trend of the plague spreading in the city..."

As Grey Worm stated the matters in the city one by one, an impatient Daenerys twitched her eyebrows and said coldly: "Why are there so many things? The Iron Throne has already fallen into the hands of my nephew..."

Previously, a letter sent by a mysterious person explained the situation in Westeros and claimed that Arthur I, who occupied King's Landing and the Iron Throne, was willing to form an alliance with the Dragon Queen to restore the glory of the Targaryen Dynasty.

The turmoil in Meereen, the Yunkai-New Ghis coalition in the south, plus the longing for her only remaining relative, gave Daenerys a strange thought.

I should have lived in the Red Keep of King's Landing; the Iron Throne is where I should sit, not here.

Once this thought appeared, it immediately occupied Daenerys's entire brain.

She no longer wanted to personally manage the trivial matters in Meereen.

"Ser Barristan will be responsible for the war in the south, Grey Worm will continue to suppress the Sons of the Harpy, and as for the Blood Plague, find enough healers to cure the patients bit by bit. I am feeling a bit unwell, so today's meeting ends here."

After briefly dismissing the Small Council, she returned to her residence and ordered her handmaid to pack her luggage.

That night, the Dragon Queen rode her largest black dragon, Drogon, and took the other two dragons, leaving the Great Pyramid of Meereen.

(End of this chapter)