Chapter 189: The Dragon-Taming Prince

Acting with Quentyn, besides Ser Drinkwater and the bald Yronwood, also included Daelen and Kase, who came from Dorne together. The former was surnamed Sand, and the latter was surnamed Wells. Kase Wells described himself as a descendant of exiles who supported the Blackfyre family during the Blackfyre Rebellion, but Quentyn felt that his surname, like that of Lucifer Long of the North, was a mystery.

They, these people who had broken away from the Windblown, did not need to return to the Windblown, because the group of more than twenty Westerosi had been defined by the Queen's words "nothing to do with the Windblown." These people had the right to break away from the Windblown without worrying about the pursuit of the Tattered Prince.

Also exempted were the debts, service terms, and various promises that Quentyn and others had made to the Tattered Prince while in the Windblown.

This was another small warning from the Queen after presenting the head of Ben Plumm to the Tattered Prince.

Among them, those willing to break away from the Windblown and follow Quentyn were only these two people.

Quentyn stood on the Great Pyramid, watching the Queen and her guards walk out of the pyramid in the hazy night, and watching teams of warriors leave through the northern passage, disappearing into the black wilderness.

These were only a small part of the personnel participating in the military operation.

He had slipped out of the guards' sight by presenting the Queen leaving the Great Pyramid, otherwise, they would have asked him where he was going and whether he needed additional guards. If that happened, today's action would be a disaster. He could not avoid the eyes of the Unsullied to approach the giant dragon.

Fortunately, today he didn't have to, and no one would think that on this night, the night the Queen was about to leave the Great Pyramid, there was still a Prince's business that needed to be handled.

He, Ser Drinkwater, and Archibald Yronwood rushed straight to the inn prepared for these former Windblown members along the street. Ser Drinkwater tapped lightly on Daelen's window. After three breaths, Daelen pulled up the windowsill, and after another ten breaths, the door was opened.

Daelen pulled his clothes vaguely and checked the dagger and tools at his waist.

"Where is Kase?"

"That lazy pig has already been woken up by me and is now getting dressed," Daelen replied, "Are we going to act now? Damn, it's not even dawn yet. Look, the moon is illuminating the few ghosts clearly."

Enough for the dragon to see the appearance of people.

"We must act now."

"Must, okay, you are the commander now."

After another difficult moment, Kase Wells appeared before them, fully armored.

"It's not that easy to put on armor without disturbing others' sleep."

"We are not going to fight, we don't need to wear armor."

"Putting on armor before doing dangerous things is a habit I've always had. To avoid waking up the beautiful Meris, I spent a lot of effort."

"Then you obviously didn't succeed," Meris also walked out from outside the door, "What exactly are you Dornishmen preparing to do? Yo, our Dornish Prince, aren't you the Queen's distinguished guest? How come you're doing sneaky things?"

"What have I done?" He had already broken away from the Windblown and didn't need to listen to this captain's orders anymore.

"I don't know, but many people will be interested, such as the Unsullied stationed at the street corner. Do you need me to call them over to listen together?"

"No need," he conceded, "I can take you with me." Compared to other Windblown members, this woman might be worth trusting, and he could regret it at any time and kill this woman in a dark street corner.

"What do you want?"

"I want everything you have," the woman said.

Quentyn almost laughed, but he was not a man who loved to laugh, and his face must have been extremely uncomfortable and ugly at this moment.

"I have nothing now." Wait until I succeed, I will have a dragon.

"Our Prince has his own virginity, but such a precious thing will never be given to an ugly woman like you. You can scream if you want, His Highness the Prince can order the Unsullied to stab you to death with a spear," Arch said, "Starting from below."

"What do you want?" Quentyn asked again. If she was indeed this troublesome, perhaps he should act now.

"The same thing mercenaries want, gold."

"I don't have gold."

"Your father, the Prince, has it."

"He is thousands of miles away."

"I can put it in Dorne first. After all, it's safer there than here, isn't it?" The beauty laughed, "Three thousand gold dragons."

"I didn't bring a pen," Quentyn said irritably.

"I believe in the Prince's reputation."

"Deal."

"Deal, deal. I'm talking about Westerosi gold dragons, not the little ghost gold dragons of Volantis."

Quentyn ignored her, carefully walked through streets and alleys, and came to a stone house. The door of the black stone house was tightly closed. A persimmon tree stretched over the courtyard wall, extending a branch outward, with clusters of fruit hanging on it. He confirmed that this was indeed the one he saw during the day, and he hadn't gone to the wrong place.

"Bang, bang, bang." He started knocking on the door, worried that the sound was too small for the old butcher to hear, and worried that the sound was too loud and would wake everyone around.

When he was about to knock on the door again, the sound of opening the door came from inside.

"Three black goats?" The butcher poked his head out from the crack of the door, looked at the few people outside, and then asked in rough Valyrian.

"Yes."

"Three gold coins, did you bring them?"

"Brought them." Quentyn was busy digging into his pockets, but as soon as he touched his body, he felt terrible. He had changed his clothes in the morning, but his purse and armor were forgotten on the Great Pyramid. It was impossible to go back and get them now. He touched his pockets repeatedly, sure that he wouldn't be lucky enough to have three gold coins hidden inside.

"I don't give credit," he revealed black teeth and hurriedly closed the door.

"I'll pay you back when dawn comes."

"The gods don't want to trade in the dark. Go!"

He heard the sound of the bolt being thrown.

"Do you have any?" Several men looked at each other.

"I do have three silver ones in my hand," Kase said.

The stingy butcher didn't like anything that wasn't yellow at all.

"Gods, what kind of sheep costs one gold dragon each? Is he feeding them with his dick?"

"Damn, black goats traded at ghost time cost this much," Arch bared his teeth, panting with hatred.

"You didn't bring money?"

"Forgot."

"Heh, men!" The beauty Meris reached into her pants pocket, scratched around her waist, and fished out three gold coins.

"Thanks." Quentyn took the gold coins and knocked on the door again. "We found the gold coins!"

"I want ten times the repayment."

A hundred times is fine too!

Quentyn heard footsteps, threw a gold coin through the crack of the door. After a while, the butcher opened the door again, holding a goat in his hand, and threw it out directly. The sheep let out an astonishing "baa," which startled him.

Quentyn hurriedly threw the remaining two gold coins in together. After another while, the butcher held the other two black goats and threw them out, then immediately closed the door.

"Do we need to use live ones?" Ser Drinkwater shouted.

"If they don't listen, use dead ones." Quentyn hurriedly threw the rope over, and several people led the sheep and left in a hurry.

"Why use black goats?"

"The Seneschal said dragons like to eat black goats." However, they liked wild oxen even more, but he couldn't get wild oxen in all of Meereen, let alone bring them to the top of the thirteen-story pyramid.

The three sheep were shitting as they walked on the black dense forest street. Quentyn felt that their current appearance was extremely stupid.

Fortunately, this shop was relatively close to the Pyramid of Uhlez, and they only needed to cross an alley to approach the pyramid.

Under their guidance, the three sheep slowly approached the Pyramid of Uhlez. Daelen Sand and Kase Wells separated from him at this time. They were responsible for monitoring the Unsullied responsible for defense first.

"You Westerosi are too slow," a short man with a thick Ghiscari-accented Valyrian jumped out after seeing them. "I've been waiting here until I fell asleep. Hey, the sheep you prepared are too small. Dragons can eat a whole ox at a time now. How can such small sheep be enough? Kherz is a bastard, he must have given you the smallest sheep. But forget it, come quickly. Such a high pyramid, if the sheep were bigger, you would be exhausted to death and still not be able to send them up."

"Is the situation still normal?"

"Normal, why wouldn't it be? We are responsible for dismantling the arena, and the dragons are responsible for sending us bricks from above. Damn, several people were injured by being hit. This work can't be done. However, precisely because of this, we can pass through the arena passage and board the pyramid. You can rest assured that there are absolutely no guards defending that place."

He whispered while guiding them to walk inward from the arena passage. It was pitch black inside, and the sheep's footsteps were slower, but Quentyn gradually adapted to the darkness and vaguely saw the light shining on the other side of the passage.

"See that iron door? No one can open it except me." The short man's hair was a withered yellow under the torchlight. Quentyn didn't know how such a young and thin man became so mercenary. He didn't like it, but obviously, this was also a kind of ability he had never touched.

The short man pushed the rough iron door with his hand, opened it with the key in his hand, and guided several people through.

"See that small passage over there?" The short man pointed to a dark small passage, "That is the passage for releasing beasts. As long as you open that gate, the beasts can run into the arena along the passage and fight with their enemies. When it walks into the arena, I will pull down the gate so it cannot return. Hehe, you have to know, although some beasts look fierce, they will be as weak as kittens when they reach a strange environment and will huddle in the passage and refuse to go out. This is the reason for closing the gate."

Under the faint light of the torch, he couldn't see the road at all, nor did he know how the beasts entered the arena from the passage. He didn't even understand how he entered the arena from the periphery of the pyramid.

"When there is a competition, in most cases, I bet on the animals to win, but for those arena regulars, especially those humans carrying weapons, I bet on the humans to win. Although beasts are big, they are not as smart as humans."

"Are you a free man? I mean before the Queen came to Meereen?"

"Of course I am. I am also surnamed Uhlez. I have the same surname as the Uhlez who lives in the pyramid. But they are too rich, and I am too poor. Hey, the Dragon Queen is good at everything, it would be best to kill all those bastards, but she shouldn't have closed the arena. Without the arena, I have no work. I am as poor as the slaves before. Otherwise, I wouldn't have accepted Old Pakh's commission to do this kind of thing for you."

Quentyn didn't know how long this passage was or how long he had been circling here. Arch was panting beside him, Ser Drinkwater was carefully guarding the surroundings, and Meris was staring at the short man with a sneer.

"Ahead is the last door. It was originally guarded by people of the Uhlez family, but they all fled, and I don't know if they will come back. However, this pyramid now belongs to the dragons. Do you know? On the first day the dragons nested here, all the rats inside fled out, almost eating me. Damn, this is not called the Pyramid of Uhlez, it should be called the Pyramid of Rats." He held the torch, illuminating the door in front. "Through this door, you can walk along the pyramid's passage and see the dragons."

"Thank you for your assistance!" Quentyn thanked him sincerely.

"You don't need to thank me. If something happens, it has nothing to do with me."

"Of course."

He picked up an iron rod, inserted it into a pitch-black hole, pried it downward, and heard a loud sound. Afterward, he pushed open the door on one side, signaling them to enter.

"Your two assistants will wait for you at the east exit. Remember not to take the wrong exit, otherwise, you will be caught by the Unsullied," he said to them through the door.

After entering the door, he heard the sound of the door slowly closing. Although it was still not bright enough, under the moonlight, he still felt relaxed.

"Do you think sheep will be willing to climb a pyramid?" Arch asked.

"Only when they encounter danger will they climb. The big cliff at my home is covered with sheep," Ser Drinkwater said with a smile.

The sheep were ultimately unwilling to climb the pyramid, so several people took turns carrying the sheep. The Pyramid of Uhlez, like other small pyramids, looked short from the Great Pyramid, but actually carrying sheep up was really strenuous. They stopped and went, and when the moonlight tilted to one side again, they felt they had reached the upper part.

He had thought that the top might be like the Great Pyramid, blowing fresh air, but the reality was that this place was simply a slaughterhouse. Animal bones and rotten meat were messily piled up in several spaces of the pyramid, smelling nauseating.

The black goats seemed to have sensed danger, curled up into a ball, and were trembling. Quentyn had originally thought he would be nervous, but the exhaustion made him want to end everything as soon as possible.

He carefully threw away the bones and supports on the road, clearing a path for them to step on. But the busier he was, the more he could feel the stench and suffocation around him.

None of them spoke again, perhaps worried that if they opened their mouths, they would swallow the rotten meat into their stomachs.

He signaled for several people to stop on the lower level, then walked to the top of the pyramid alone.

Under the moonlight, the white-gold giant dragon's body was rising and falling with a regular rhythm. This was truly a magnificent giant object.

There was nothing more beautiful in the world than this kind of creature, right?

He swallowed his excitement.

He observed Viserion, imagining himself riding such a beautiful creature and galloping in this sky.

"Your Highness!" Arch shouted, "How is it?"

"Nothing at all, don't disturb it!" he whispered downward.

If dragons were like humans and had an obsession with sleep, the danger of disturbing a dragon's sleep was obviously higher.

He walked down the steps slowly, but he couldn't stand the stench here for a moment, so after explaining the situation, he climbed to the top of the pyramid again, found a place where he could lean, and looked outside the city.

The moon hung to the west, and the light in the east had not yet appeared. It was not yet time for the Tiger Cloak Army to send a signal.

The dragon turned over and made a loud snort, then continued to sleep. The sound was exceptionally different from what he heard on the Great Pyramid.

When he waited through the dragon turning over twice in tension and calm, a bonfire was lit in the wilderness outside the city. In the blink of an eye, the bonfire became larger, until it could not be ignored by anyone, and faint shouts of killing came.

The dragon stood up abruptly and began to look into the distance.

Perhaps, this was the time.

The Queen was fighting her own battle, and he also had to fight his own.

"Viserion!" he shouted.

The giant dragon turned its head abruptly. Under the moonlight, its two vertical pupils opened completely, inside which were two pools of molten gold.

"Ang..." It roared at him.

"Viserion!" he shouted loudly, suppressing the fear of turning and fleeing.

Either die, or be the first person in hundreds of years.

"I came here to help," he said, "I brought food." After speaking, he threw the trembling goat aside.

"Eat!" he shouted.

Golden-red flames spewed toward the goat beside it. He raised his hands to dodge. The heat wave came, and he shrank tightly to the side.

He signaled Ser Drinkwater and Arch to follow, and climbed to the top of the building again, holding another larger black goat. He untied the rope binding the black goat and pushed the sheep over.

"Eat!" he shouted, and then another one.

The three sheep only let Viserion eat a few mouthfuls.

He didn't know what else he should do now.

"I came here to help," Quentyn heard himself say, "The Queen is in danger."

The eastern sky had turned white, and the mark of the moon in the sky began to fade.

"Ang..." The sound of the dragon's roar became flat. Viserion stared at him with those eyes, then forced itself to the edge of the pyramid, looked down at Meris, and then looked away.

"She is not the Queen. The Queen is outside the city now," Quentyn said while approaching it.

What a beautiful creature! He felt the heat transmitted from the giant dragon and felt the exuberant energy beneath its body.

I have already walked to this point, what else can stop me?

The giant dragon stared at him fixedly. He felt the giant dragon's scrutiny.

What else can I lose? He spread his hands, unbuckled his belt, and threw it down along with the sword and dagger on it.

"Take me away, I promise you, I will be loyal to the Queen." He approached the giant dragon step by step, each step so heavy, so trembling.

He placed his hand on Viserion's wing. Scorching hot.

"Take me away, I promise you, I will be loyal to the Queen, with all my heart and soul. I promise you with my life and honor." Both his hands began to tremble, his legs were soft, and his mouth and tongue were dry.

He had never said this to any girl, anyone, or anything else, but in front of the dragon, everything was so simple.

"Take me away."

He climbed onto the dragon's back, his hands holding the protruding tail spikes above, as if those two spikes were waiting for him. The warmth went straight through his whole body. He pressed his legs against the dragon's back, so powerfully.

He felt himself starting to fly. ===== CHAPTER 190 =====