Chapter 64 Chapter 64: Daenerys

She ate breakfast, a bowl of cold dried shrimp and persimmon soup, and Iri brought her a Qarth robe, ivory satin with patterns sewn with small pearls, cool and airy. "Take it away," Dany said. "You don't need finery to go to the docks." The milkmen took me for a savage, so I simply dressed them up for them.She went to the stables in faded sandsilk trousers and straw sandals, her small breasts bouncing freely under a painted Dothraki waistcoat, a machete slung from her medal belt.Jhiqui braided her hair in the Dothraki style and tied a silver bell at the end. "I have never won a battle," she said to the maid as the silver bell rang softly.

Jiqi doesn't think so: "You burn witches and demons in the Temple of Dust, and throw their souls back to hell." It was Drogon's victory, not mine, Dany tried to argue, but said nothing.If there were more bells on his head, the Dothraki would have admired him even more.So she made a noise on purpose from the moment she got on the little silver horse, but Ser Jorah and the bloodriders didn't care.When she went out, she chose Rakharo to protect her people and dragons, while Jhogo and Argo went to the docks together. Leaving marble palaces and fragrant gardens behind, they made their way through the poor quarters of the city.There are only simple brick houses here, and there are no windows on the side facing the street.Horses and camels are still rare, not to mention cars.The streets were full of children, beggars, and scrawny shaggy dogs.Fair-skinned residents in dusty linen skirts stood under arches to watch them pass.They know who I am and don't love me, Dany can see it in their eyes.

Ser Jorah would have liked her to ride in a coach, safe behind silk curtains, but she refused.She had been sitting on the satin cushions for so long that she was always being pulled back and forth by the oxen.It was only when she got back on the horse that she felt down-to-earth and had a purpose. Going to the pier was not her own will, but another escape.Her life has been one long escape.Since the mother's womb, there has been no rest, never stopped.How many times had she and Viserys sneaked away in the dark of night, just one step ahead of the usurper's assassins?If you don't escape, you will die.Xaro learns that Baiya Purley has rounded up the surviving wizards against her.

Dany couldn't help laughing when she heard him say: "Didn't you tell me that wizards are as ridiculous as those weak old soldiers who only boast of their bravery in the past, regardless of strength and skill? They have long since left them?" Xaro was worried, "It was true at first, but now something has changed. It is said that the glass candle that had been extinguished for a hundred years was re-burned in Erasson's mansion, and the ghost weed was growing in the garden of Jhien. The Phantom Turtle was seen passing messages between the windowless houses on Wizard's Row, and all the rats in the city chewed off their tails. Mathos Malaravan's wife once laughed at a wizard's moth-eaten robes, but Now she is crazy and refuses to wear any clothes, because even the freshest silk makes her feel like there are thousands of insects crawling on it. The blind Saibixin who is called the "Eye Eater" can see again, at least he slaves swear like that. How can these circumstances not make people wonder?" He sighed. "Qarth is in an extraordinary period, and the extraordinary period is not good for trade. I am sad to advise you to leave Qarth completely, sooner rather than later." Xaro stroked her finger to show comfort. "But you will not be alone. You saw dark visions in the Temple of Dust, but Xaro's dreams were bright. I dreamed that you lay joyously on your bed, holding our child to your breast. It is not too late, and Let me sail together on the Jade Sea and make dreams come true! Give me a son, my lovely star of heaven!"

Give you a dragon, you are so hypocritical. "I will not marry you, Xaro." Hearing this, his face sank. "Then you go." "Where should I go?" "Just stay away from here." Well, it's about time.Her khalasar, who had been tormented in the Red Wastes and needed time to recover, were brimming with energy and impatient.The Dothraki are not used to staying in one place for a long time. They are a horse race and are not suitable for living in cities.Maybe she'd indulged in the comfort and beauty of Qarth and lingered too long, contrary to her original intention.It seemed to her that the people of this city had always said more than they did, and that since the Temple of the Immortal had toppled in a great cloud of smoke and flames, its previous popularity had begun to change.Overnight, the men of Qarthe remembered the danger of dragons, and they stopped competing for gifts.Instead, the Tourmaline Brotherhood publicly called for her expulsion, and the Spice Ancient Guild for her execution.It was Xaro's best effort to keep the Thirteen from joining their ranks.

Where should I go?Ser Jorah suggests continuing east, away from her enemies in the Seven Kingdoms.Her bloodriders wanted to return to the prairie, and would not hesitate to challenge the Red Wasteland again.Dany herself thought about settling in Wes Tororo, waiting for the dragons to thrive.But she was full of doubts, every plan didn't seem to be quite right, and...even if she decided on a destination, how to get there was still a thorny issue. But one thing she had come to realize was that Xaro Xhoan Daxos would no longer help her.All confessions of true love are just for self-interest, no different from Haiya Puli.On the night he cast her out, Dany begged him for one last favor. "No way, you want an army?" Xaro asked. "A pot of gold? Uh...a battleship?"

Dany blushed.She hated begging. "Yes, I want you to give me a boat." Xaro's eyes shone like the jewels on his nose. "I'm a merchant, Khaleesi, so let's talk about business instead of giving. You trade a dragon for my ten best ships. Say that lovely word and we'll make a deal." "No," she said. "Alas," sobbed Xaro, "that's not the word I meant." "How can a mother sell her child?" "Why not? Anyway, it can be regenerated. On the market in Qarth, mothers sell their children every day." "But not the Mother of Dragons."

"Not even twenty ships?" "Not even a hundred ships." His lips rolled down, "I don't have a hundred ships, but you have three dragons. For the sake of my generosity, just give me one. You can keep two dragons and thirty ships." Thirty ships were enough to land a small army on the shores of Westeros.But I don't even have a small army. "How many ships do you have in all, Xaro?" "If you don't count the luxury yacht, there are eighty-three in total." "Where are your colleagues from the Thirteen Giants?" "All together, about a thousand ships."

"What about the Spice Guild and the Tourmaline Brotherhood?" "Their little boats are nothing." "I understand," she said, "I just want to be clear." "Twelve or three hundred for the Spice Merchant Guild. No more than eight hundred for the Brotherhood." "Then the Asshais, the Braavosi, the Summer Islanders, the Ibans...all these peoples who sail the salty ocean, how many ships do they have? How many do they add up?" "Many, many," he became irritated, "what do you want to say?" "I want to put a price on one of the three remaining living dragons." Dany smiled sweetly at him. "A third of the world's ships is a fair price to pay in my opinion."

Glittering tears rolled down the sides of Xaro's bejeweled nose. "Didn't I warn you? Don't go to the Temple of Dust, I'm afraid this will happen. The wizard's chants are driving you crazy. You are no different from Malaravan's wife. One-third of the world boat? Forget it, forget it, I said, forget it!" Dany never saw him again after that.His butler was in charge of the conversation, each time becoming more indifferent.He stopped providing for her and her people and asked her to leave his house.He also wants her to return all the presents for repeated unfaithfulness.Her only consolation was that she did not marry him after all.

The Immortal mentions three betrayals... once for blood, once for money, and once for love.The first was apparently Mirri Maz Duur, who murdered Khal Drogo and their unborn son to avenge her people.Are Haiya Puli and Xaro Xhoan Daxos the second or third time?She doesn't think so.Haiya didn't do it for money, and Xaro never loved her. The streets grew deserted as they passed through gray stone warehouses.In the party, Argo was in front, Jhogo was behind, and Ser Jorah Mormont was with her.The silver bell rang softly, and Dany's thoughts returned involuntarily to the Temple of Dust. It felt like a tongue could not leave the space left by a fallen tooth.They called her: Son of Three, Daughter of Death, Killer of Lies, Bride of Fire.Three...three flames, three horses, three betrayals. "The dragon has three heads," she sighed. "You know what that means, Jorah?" "Your Majesty, the coat of arms of House Targaryen is a red three-headed dragon on a black background." "I know this, but there are no three-headed dragons in the world." "The three heads represent Aegon and his two sisters." "Visenya and Rhaenys," she remembered, "I am descended from Aegon and Rhaenys, from their son Aenys and grandson Jaehaerys." "Didn't Xaro tell you that blue lips can only utter lies? Why do you care about the whispers of wizards? You already know that they only want to suck your life." "Perhaps," she reluctantly said, "but what I saw..." "A corpse standing on the prow, a blue rose, a bloody feast... What's the point, Khaleesi? You said you saw a cloth dragon, what is it?" "A broon on a flagpole," Dany explained, "used in troupe plays to represent a hero's opponent." Ser Jorah frowned. Dany couldn't let it go. "My brother said his song was A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm sure it was my brother, but it wasn't Viserys, it was Rhaegar. He had a silver-stringed harp." Ser Jorah's brows knit together even more tightly. "Prince Rhaegar has a harp like this," he agreed. "Have you seen him?" She nodded. "A woman was lying on a bed with a baby in her arms. My brother said the child was the prophesied prince and named him Aegon." "Prince Aegon is the son of Rhaegar and Elia of Dorne, grandson of the king," Ser Jorah said. "If he is the prince of prophecy, then when the Lannisters smashed him against the wall, The prophecy also shattered." "I know what happened to him," said Dany sadly. "They also killed Rhaegar's daughter, Princess Rhaenys, who was named after Aegon's sister. He said the dragon had three heads, and only Without Visenya. And what is A Song of Ice and Fire?" "I haven't heard this song." "I asked wizards for answers, and they gave me a hundred new questions." The flow of people on the street is getting denser again. "Get out of the way," Argo called, and Jhogo sniffed the air suspiciously. "I smell it, Khaleesi," he announced aloud, "poisonous water." The Dothraki distrusted the sea and everything connected with it, and considered water unclean as long as horses couldn't drink it.They will understand, Dany believed, that I have faced Khal Drogo and their sea, and now it is their turn to face mine. Qarth is one of the largest ports in the world, with colorful, buzzing, and eclectic docks under a huge canopy.Taverns, warehouses and casinos lined the streets, with cheap brothels and temples to all sorts of exotic gods.Thieves, rogues, spell dealers and coin dealers are everywhere.The dock area is a big market, buying and selling day and night, as long as you don't ask the source of the goods, you can get the same items here for a fraction of the market price.Lean old women hunched over like camels, selling goat's milk and flavored water in smooth clay jugs strapped to their shoulders.Sailors from dozens of countries wandered from shop to shop, drinking mulled wine and bantering with each other in strange accents.The air smells not only of salt and fried fish, but of hot pitch and honey, and even incense, oil and whale oil. Ago took a copper coin and bought a skewer of roasted rat meat with honey from a boy, and ate it while riding.Jhogo brought a large handful of plump white cherries.Along the way they saw for sale beautiful bronze daggers, dried cuttlefish, carved agate, and a strong magical potion said to be made of virgin milk and the water of Nightshade.There are even dragon eggs in the market, but they look suspiciously like painted rocks. They passed the feldspar wharf owned by the Thirteen, and she saw crates of saffron, frankincense, and pepper being unloaded from Xaro's gorgeous ship, the Cinnabar Kiss.Nearby, someone else was hauling barrels of wine, bales of sourgrass leaves, and bundles of zebra hides down the gangplank into the Blue Bride, which was heading out on the tide tonight.Ahead, people gather around the Spice Guild's rowboat, the Sunshine, to bid for slaves.We all know that if you want to save money to buy slaves, you can buy them by the side of the ship.The banner flying from the Solar's mainmast indicated that she had just returned from the city of Astapor in Slaver's Bay. Neither the Thirteen nor the Tourmaline Brotherhood nor the Ancient Spice Guild would help Dany any more, so she rode her silver horse over their miles of docks, docks, and warehouses to the end of the horseshoe-shaped harbor from the Summer Isles, Wester Ships from Los Angeles and the nine free trade city states are required to dock there. She dismounted by a gambling pit, where a snake lizard was tearing a big red dog to pieces in the midst of a circle of yelling sailors. "Argo, Jhogo, I'll leave the horses to you. Ser Jorah and I will talk to those captains." "Yes, Khaleesi, please rest assured." How I wish I could hear Valyrian spoken again...or even the Common Tongue, Dany thought, as she approached the first ship.Sailors, longshoremen, and merchants made way for her, wondering who this slender girl with silvery hair and Dothraki dress was, with a knight at her side.In spite of the heat, Ser Jorah wore mail mail over a green wool coat with House Mormont's black bear stitched across the breast. But neither her beauty nor his strength mattered to the shipowners. "You want me to take a hundred Dothraki, their horses, yourself and this knight, and three more dragons?" said the captain of the great cargo ship The Friend, and went away laughing.When she told the Lysians on the "Trumpeter" that she was Daenerys "Stormborn", Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, the other party made a face: "Hey, I am Lord Tywin Lannister. There is gold in the shit you pull late.” The cargo hold supervisor of Mill’s boat “Si Ling” thought it was too dangerous to carry a dragon out to sea, and the rigging on the ship might be burned if he was not careful. The owner of "The Belly of the Faro" is willing to take the risk of carrying a dragon, but he is unwilling to take a Dosraki. The captains of the Greyhound are two brothers, who seem to sympathize with Dani's experience, and invite her to enter the cabin to drink a glass of red wine from Arbor Island.Dany's hopes were aroused by their courteous gestures, but the price they finally offered was far beyond her means, and even Xaro could not afford it. The "Narrow Bottom" and "The Girl with Black Plum Eyes" are too small to meet the requirements. The "Killer" will sail to the Jade Sea, and the "Governor Manolo" seems to be difficult to weather the storm. As they walked toward the next pier, Ser Jorah put his hand quietly on her waistcoat. "Your Majesty, you are being followed. No, don't look back." He led her slowly to a stall selling brass. "What a masterpiece, my queen," he declared, holding up a platter casually, "and behold how it shines in the sun!" The copper plate was polished so brightly that Dany could see her own face... Ser Jorah angled to the right, and what was behind him appeared. "The fat brown man and the old man with a cane. Which one do you mean?" "They've both been following you," Ser Jorah said. "They've been after us since we left the Quicksilver." The lines on the brass distorted eerily the images of the two strangers, one of whom appeared long and tall. And thin, the male one is extremely strong and broad. "This is my best bronze, my lord," declared the merchant, "it shines like the sun! As a tribute, I take only thirty hui from the Mother of Dragons." The three Hui coins on this plate are not worth it. "Where are the guards?" Dany threatened. "This man wants to rob me!" Then she whispered to Jorah in the Common Tongue, "Perhaps they mean nothing to me. It's always been right for men to look at women." The coppersmith doesn't care about her whispers. "Thirty? I said thirty? Sorry, I'm confused. The real price is twenty Hui coins." "All the things in your stall don't add up to twenty Hui coins," Dany told the boss, observing carefully.The old man looked like a Westerosi, and the fat brown man weighed at least twenty stone.Are these two killers who traveled long distances for the title of lord promised by the usurper?Or the puppet of the wizard, planning to wait for an opportunity to attack? "Ten Hui coins! Khaleesi, you are so lovely, use it as a mirror. Only such fine copperware can capture your beauty." "It's more or less a chamber pot. I'm too lazy to pick it up when I throw it on the floor, and you want me to pay for it?" Dany shoved the plate back into his hand. "There must be worms crawling into your nostrils. ate your brains." "Eight huis," he begged, "my wives will beat me up and call me a fool, but I'm a helpless child to you. Well, eight huis, I'll sell you at a loss. " "What would I want this bland brass for? Xaro Xhoan Daxos provides me with gold plates to eat." Dany turned away, taking the opportunity to glance at the stranger out of the corner of her eye.The brown man was as broad as the plate showed him, with gleaming bald heads and eunuch-smooth cheeks.An extremely long arakh was tucked into a sweat-stained yellow belly pocket, and otherwise a ridiculously small studded vest.On his thick arms like a tree trunk, in front of his broad chest, and between his thick stomach, there are old scars everywhere. The pale scars are very conspicuous against the hazel shell-like tan skin. The other wore an undyed wool traveling cloak with the hood lifted, long white hair falling to his shoulders, and a silky silver beard covering the lower half of his face.He leaned his weight on a hardwood cane that was as tall as him.Only a fool would stare so blatantly at a victim before killing them.However, for the sake of caution, it is safer to go back to Jogo and Ago. "The old man has no weapons," she told him in the Common Tongue, leading Jorah away. The copperware dealer hurried to catch up, "Five Hui coins, five Hui coins, it's yours! It's a rare opportunity, it's a pity to miss it!" Jorah said, "A hardwood staff is as deadly as a mace." "Four! I know you like it!" He danced in front of them, bringing the plate up and backing away with them. "Are they still following?" "Hold it up," Knight told the merchant. "Yes, the old man pretends to pay attention to the pottery stall, while the brown guy stares at you intently." "Two Hui coins! Two! Two!" The businessman ran backwards, panting. "Well, don't tire him out, pay," Dany told Ser Jorah, wondering what to do with the great brass plate.While the knight was negotiating with the businessman, she turned around, intending to end the farce.How could the blood of a real dragon be chased around in the market by an old man and a fat eunuch! A Qarth stood in front of him. "Mother of Dragons, a gift for you," he knelt down on one knee, offering a jewel box. Dani took it subconsciously.It was a finely carved wooden box with emerald tops inlaid with jasper and chalcedony. "You are too kind." She opened it to reveal a gleaming green beetle carved from onyx and emerald.So beautiful, she thought, just in time to help pay for our travel expenses.She reached into the box and the man whispered, "I'm sorry," she barely heard. The beetle unfolded its body with a hiss. Dany caught a glimpse of a vicious black face, like a man's, with a curved tail dripping with venom... Before she could speak, the box flew out of her hand and shattered into pieces in the air.A sharp pain made her fingers twitch.She screamed and squeezed her hands, and the coppersmith screamed at the same time, and a woman screamed, and all the Qarthians were screaming and shoving each other in an instant.Ser Jorah pushed ahead of her, and Dany staggered to her knees.The hiss came again.The old man slammed his cane on the ground.At this time, I saw Argo Pegasus stepping past the egg merchant's shop and leaping forward, Jorgo's whip crackled, and Ser Jorah took the plate he just bought and smashed it on the head of the eunuch who was following her.The sailors, prostitutes and merchants present were screaming and running away... "Your Majesty, I am very sorry." The old man knelt down on one knee. "It's dead. I didn't hurt your hand, did I?" She folded her fingers together and moved, "I don't think so." "The matter was urgent just now..." Before he finished speaking, her bloodrider rushed forward.Ago kicked off the crutches, and Jogo hugged the old man's shoulders to prevent him from getting up, and pressed a dagger to his throat. "Khalishi, we saw him attacking you, do you want to see the color of his blood?" "Let him go." Dany stood up, "Look under his crutch, the blood of my blood." Ser Jorah was thrown out by the eunuch, and then the arakh scimitar and long sword were unsheathed at the same time with a "swish" , she hurried between them. "Drop your weapons! Stop!" "Your Majesty?" Mormont lowered the point of his sword only an inch. "These two men have evil intentions." "They're protecting me." Dany shook her hands hard to get rid of the tingling in her fingers. "It's a Qarthite who's against me." She looked around, but the man was gone. "He was a sorry customer and gave me a manticore jewelry box. It was the old man who knocked it out of my hand." The coppersmith was still rolling on the ground, and she went to help him up. "Have you been stung?" "No, good lady," he said tremblingly, "otherwise I'd be dead. But it hit me, ay, ay, it fell out of the box, right into my hand." No wonder, he pissed Pants. She gave him a silver coin as compensation, sent him away, then turned to face the old man with a white beard, "I owe you my life." "You don't owe me anything, Your Majesty. My real name is Arstan. During the voyage here, Belwas nicknamed me Whitebeard." Although Jhogo had let go, the old man remained kneeling.Aggo picked up the crutch, turned it over, and couldn't help cursing softly in Dothraki.He scraped the manticore's body off the stone and handed it back to the old man. "Who is Belwas?" she asked. The tall, brown-skinned eunuch put away the arakh and strode forward. "I am. In the arenas of Meereen they call me 'Bulky' Belwas, for I have never lost." He patted his scarred stomach. "Before I kill someone, I always give the other party a chance to kill me first. Do the math, and you'll know how many people the 'strong man' Belwas has killed." Dany didn't need to count, she had already glimpsed how many scars there were. "Why did you come here, 'Strong' Belwas?" "I was sold from Meereen to Qohor, and then to that fat man in Pentos with the scent in his hair. He sent Belwas the Strong over the sea, and Whitebeard served him." A fat man with a scent in his hair... "Illyrio?" she guessed, "Governor Illyrio sent you here?" "Yes, Your Majesty," replied the old man with the white beard. "Not in person, Governor. Forgive me. He is too old to ride a horse, and seasick when sailing." He had spoken the Valyrian dialect of the Free Cities before, but now he was speaking the Common. "If you disturbed me, we sincerely apologize. To be honest, he and I were not sure at first. I thought you would have more... more..." "Royal style?" Dany laughed out loud.She didn't bring a dragon, and her clothes were very different from the Queen's. "You speak the Common Tongue very well, Arstan, are you from Westeros?" "Yes, Your Majesty, I was born in the frontier of Dorne. When I was young, I served as a servant to a knight in the Swann family." He raised his cane high, like a spear without a banner, "Now I am Belvor Si's servant." "Squire, don't you think you're a little old?" Ser Jorah huddled beside Dany, the brass plate tucked awkwardly beneath Belwas's iron head, which twisted so badly. "It is not old to serve my lord, Lord Mormont." "you know me?" "I have seen what you can do. At Lannisport, you nearly unhorsed the Kingslayer. On Pyke, you fought valiantly. You don't remember these things, Lord Mormont?" Ser Jorah frowned. "You look familiar, but hundreds of people participated in the tournament in Lannisport, and thousands of knights were dispatched to attack Pike. I can't remember who you are. But remind you, I am no longer the earl, and Bear Island belongs to others , I'm just a wandering knight." "You are the chief knight of the Queen's Guard," Dany said, taking his arm. "My faithful friend and excellent advisor." She studied Arstan's face carefully.He had an intense majesty, a quiet strength she adored. "Arise, Whitebeard Arstan. You are welcome too, Strong Belwas. You already know Ser Jorah, and these two are Argoko and Jhogoko, my bloodriders. They followed me through the Red Waste and saw Witness the birth of a dragon." "Stony boy," Belwas grinned. "Belwas killed many a horse boy in the pit. Bells rang when they died." Ago immediately drew his knife. "I haven't killed a fat brown man yet, and Belwas will be the first." "Give up your arms, blood of my blood," said Dany. "This man has come to serve me. Belwas, you must respect my people completely, or your service will soon be over, when the There will be more scars than there are now." The toothy grin faded from the giant's broad brown face, replaced by a questioning scowl.It seemed that few people threatened Belwas, let alone a girl who was one-third his size. Dany gave him a smile to lessen the hurt of the blame. "Tell me, Magister Illyrio sent you all the way from Pentos, and why?" "He wants the dragon," said Belwas gruffly, "and the girl who gave birth to the dragon. He wants you." "Belwas speaks the truth, Your Grace," said Arstan. "We were ordered to find you and bring you back to Pentos. You are needed in the Seven Kingdoms, Robert the Usurper is dead, and the nation is bleeding. When we sailed from Pentos, the land was four kings, and all are unjust." Dany's heart was full of joy, but her face was calm. "I have three dragons," she said, "and a khalasar of over a hundred men, with all their possessions and horses." "No problem," said Belwas in a low voice. "We'll take what we order. The fat Pentos man hired three boats for his little silver-haired queen." "Exactly, Your Majesty," Whitebeard Astan said, "the big merchant ship 'Cedurion' is moored at the end of the pier, and the rowboats 'Summer Sun' and 'Jousting Yoso' are anchored outside the flood barrier." A dragon has three heads, Dany thought. "I will tell my people to prepare for departure immediately, but the name of the ship that will bring me home must be changed." "As you wish," Arstein said, "what's your favorite name?" "Vaghar," Daenerys told him, "Melassis, Balerion. Paint the lettering on the hull with gold paint, at least three feet high. Arstan, I want everyone who sees them Everyone knows: the real dragon is back!"