AN:
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It merely rested close enough to remind everyone present that it could.
The elderly gentleman leading the group smiled politely before inclining his head saying “I bring greetings from my master, Lord Aethon, the sea prince!”
He produced a sealed letter with both hands continuing “My instructions were simply to place this into Lord Aethon’s care.”
Ser Alester accepted the parchment, inspected the seal, then handed it to Aethon.
The messenger bowed once more saying “Our business is concluded.”
Without waiting for conversation, the three quietly departed into the bustling harbor.
Before Aethon could even break the wax seal, to see what this was about, the second delegation approached and their exchange proved nearly identical, they came with a respectful greeting and a sealed letter.
The third group waited patiently until the others had moved well away before approaching in turn, following the same courteous routine almost word for word.
Within only a few minutes…Aethon found himself holding three separate invitations, yes he knows they are invitations without opening them.
Ser Alester glanced toward the retreating messengers saying “They’ve clearly been watching the harbor for you my liege, they’ve likely known we were approaching since this morning perhaps.”
Aethon broke the first seal as they continued walking toward the waiting carriages ignoring his knights remarks of the messengers, his eyes quickly moved across the elegant handwriting as he read the letter.
To put it simply it was a banquet invite, hosted by one of Lys’ wealthiest merchant princes.
Aethon recognized the name immediately because years ago, during his second visit, the man had attempted to strengthen ties with House Velaryon by suggesting a marriage between Aethon and one of his daughters.
Corlys had not appreciated the implication.
To him, it had sounded less like an honorable proposal and more like an attempt to purchase influence over House Velaryon through his son.
The discussion had ended rather abruptly after that and so had the meeting.
The merchant’s servants had spent the remainder of the afternoon apologizing for what they insisted had been a misunderstanding.
Enough time had passed for another attempt and Aethon smiled faintly before opening the second letter which was another banquet invite with emphasis on a business opportunity he will find worthy of his time.
It was safe to say the merchants of Lys respected his house for it’s power and usefulness, that’s mostly why they wanted to associate themselves with him or Corlys all the time, especially the talented merchant Aethon is.
The third invitation proved no different too, the only difference was that it was an invite from someone he did not expect at all, in fact this person was unexpected to the point where he tossed the other 2 away and kept that one alone.
But all in all there was three invitations from three wealthy individuals, which meant three opportunities to discover why they had suddenly become so eager to receive him.
“Looks as though word of our arrival spread quickly,” Ser Alester observed this in Aethons expression and body language, it was safe to say he could trust him because he’s been his protector since birth, and there were some secrets of Aethon he would die for before speaking, that’s how loyal he was.
“It always does,” Aethon replied, folding the letters neatly before slipping them into his coat.
“Coin has a remarkable ability to announce itself no?
I detest them though, they couldn’t give 2 shits about me, all they want is to suck me dry for all I’m worth.”
The waiting carriage stood ready nearby.
Once everyone had boarded and the final wagons were loaded, the procession slowly departed the harbor.
Their destination lay beyond the crowded heart of Lys.
Several years earlier, Aethon had quietly purchased a sizeable estate overlooking the countryside on the city’s outskirts.
It was close enough that reaching the harbor required little more than a short ride, yet distant enough to avoid the endless noise and congestion within the city itself.
It suited him perfectly.
The carriage rolled steadily along the stone road while Aethon looked through the window, occasionally unfolding one of the invitations for another glance.
Behind them stretched an impressive convoy.
Wagon after wagon carried supplies, tools, expensive timber samples, ledgers, and dozens of heavy iron chests packed with enough gold to purchase entire districts of the city if one was willing to sell. Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.
Fifteen mounted men rode ahead of the procession, scanning the road for anything unusual, while another thirty cavalrymen guarded the rear with disciplined precision.
Most travelers moved aside long before the convoy reached them, to be fair it was not because of its size but because of the banners they saw held high with pride.
The silver seahorse of House Velaryon fluttered proudly above the column.
In Lys, few men were foolish enough to interfere with a procession belonging to the wealthiest house in Westeros.
At least…
That was what Aethon believed as the convoy disappeared deeper into the countryside, this boring journey made him have random thoughts like, ‘My life here is somewhat better than back on earth, here I’m treated like royalty which can be intoxicating especially if one has never experienced it.
Fortunately the nice comfortable life I could enjoy forever has not blinded me.’
‘I could live as I please till I die of old age or in some stupid war, but knowing this world, anything is possible, even my wildest dreams, so why settle for comfort?
Besides, the chances of my success are high.’
As he thought of this he also thought of new things he might “invent” to put him at an advantage, maybe he could abuse his knowledge of inventions on earth back in his previous life to make him even more powerful.
Then his thoughts drifted to his dragon Smaug, ‘That stubborn serpent, he’s acting all moody these days, what’s got up his ass anyway.
I think I should find a normal dragon and try taming it one day, relying on him is a hassle I can’t afford.’
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On the other hand back at Driftmark, smaug opened his eyes as if he heard what Aethon said, of course, he didn’t, it was just pure coincidence.
But it seems the dragon was up to something as it quickly left the cave and flew in a certain direction in a rush, this direction was actually opposite where Aethon went….
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