"What are you doing here?"
The man who spoke had olive skin and at first glance, could easily be mistaken for soone from Dorne.
Jorah finally gathered himself and retorted, "What makes you think you get the biggest share? I helped too!"
Viserys was relieved to see that Jorah had regained his composure.
"Think for yourself! You're not contributing at all!"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm asking you a question! What are you doing here?" The man on the ship shouted again when no one answered, but he seed to have overheard their argunt about the spoils.
"My lord, one of us is a greedy bastard, and we're about to toss him overboard!" Viserys said, pointing at Jorah.
Jorah’s eyes widened slightly at the accusation.
"I don't care what you're doing here. Either get ashore or leave now!" The young pirate from Dorne wasn’t one to curse much, whether from habit or lack of experience.
"My lord, we need to settle this today. This man wants half of this Valyrian steel sword! If everyone acted like him, how could I lead my crew?" Viserys was stalling for ti.
"I don't care how you settle it. Leave now or head to the island!"
"My lord, this is Valyrian steel!"
As Viserys continued to stall, the Dorne pirate waved impatiently. The pirates on the ship nocked their arrows, the tips glinting coldly in the light. Tension mounted among Viserys' group, the cold sweat they had just begun to shake off now returning in full force. At that mont, Viserys noticed an owl circling overhead. Quickly, he said, "We're going to the island, we're leaving now!"
To make his act more convincing, Viserys turned to Jorah and added, "Once we’re out of here, you’re fired!"
Seeing that they were finally leaving, the pirates who had co to question them turned away.
"Lord Viserys, the informant you ntioned still hasn’t shown up?"
"That was him. He just inford that the pirates are thinnest in the west, so we can sneak in from there," Viserys replied casually, though his eyes remained fixed on the owl leading the way overhead. The others looked puzzled.
The Sellswords were accustod to risk; they knew they were there to sell their lives, so regret wasn’t an issue. At most, they might grumble a bit. Besides, Viserys had been generous, paying them in advance before they set off. Though rcenaries, they still had a sense of professional ethics, and none of them complained as Viserys coaxed and persuaded them.
Soon, they reached the west side of the island. As expected, the area was sparsely populated, with only about twenty people visible at first glance. Just two guards were stationed on the high ground, though they wouldn't be easy to deal with.
"When we get ashore, gather the group and take them out. I'll handle the guards on the high ground," Viserys instructed.
"Got it, no problem," Caggo and the others replied.
With everyone watching, Viserys quietly slipped off the boat. After a minute or two passed without any sign of him, those on board grew uneasy, wondering if he had beco tangled in seaweed or encountered so other mishap.
"Why isn't he coming up?" soone muttered.
"Maybe he sank?" another suggested.
"Where is he?" Caggo asked, his sharp eyes scanning the shore. The others followed his gaze and saw a dark figure erging from the water and creeping onto the land.
Like a stealthy shadow cat, Viserys approached the two guards on the high ground. anwhile, the rest of the group rowed the boat to shore, quickly attracting the guards' attention due to their numbers.
"You there! You can’t all co ashore at once!" one guard shouted.
Caggo turned to his n and, with a quick punch to one of them, whispered, "Fight!"
"Hey! Stop right there!" The guards, noticing the commotion, began to gather. However, before they could react, the sharp swish of arrows filled the air. The guards on the upper level sensed sothing was amiss and reached for their throats, only to find warm blood trickling down. One guard, still unaware of the danger, was struck down by a crossbow bolt. In less than two minutes, Viserys' group had seized control of the temporary dock on the west side. So of them disguised themselves as guards, while the remaining thirty or so followed Viserys.
They soon arrived at a large hole at the top of a cave. After silently eliminating the guards stationed there, they began preparing the poison gas. Earlier, Viserys had demonstrated the terrifying power of chlorine gas to boost their confidence. The mory of it had sent chills down their spines, making them acutely aware that even the strongest armor would offer no protection against such a weapon. It was this display that had convinced them to take the risk with him.
Viserys peered down into the hole, Dany's owl perched on his shoulder doing the sa. Below, he could make out two or three hundred pirates. Though his view was limited, the variety of clothing styles was apparent. Surprisingly, so of the people didn’t resemble pirates at all but more like a gathering of rchants. A few even wore luxurious silk garnts, and if it weren’t for the setting, one might have mistaken them for respectable individuals.
After confirming that the gathering of pirates showed nothing unusual, Viserys directed the group to set up a tent over the cave to trap the gas. Under his command, they placed several clay pots, poured in concentrated acid, sprinkled salt, and lit a fire. As the acid boiled, thick yellow-green gas began to fill the cave. However, they quickly encountered a problem—the cave was large, and the pirates were spread out. Releasing the poison gas as planned might not kill them all at once.
"Don't worry about , just release the poison gas!" Viserys ordered. With Dany's owl on his shoulder and a Valyrian steel sword in hand, he stuffed the dragon egg into his tunic and walked toward the cave entrance, intending to lure as many pirates as possible.
When he reached the entrance, the guards approached to question him. However, upon seeing the dragon egg, their suspicions vanished, and they stared at it, srized.
Entering the cave, Viserys and the guards navigated a narrow, winding tunnel. After about ten steps, the passage suddenly opened up, revealing a cavernous hall. The place buzzed with activity, resembling a bustling market rather than a pirate den. Dozens of braziers burned brightly, and hundreds of candles cast a golden glow over the scene.
Ignoring the spectacle before him, Viserys focused on the noise—a cacophony of haggling over treasures. So pirates were bartering over a ter-high fiery red coral, while others boasted about a lavish golden crown, claiming it had been stolen from the tombs of Yi Ti. Others still showed off various Dragonbone items and jewelry, insisting their treasures ca from the Shadow Lands of Asshai. Here, re gold and silver held little value in this den of demons.
Viserys spotted a pirate with a burnt face attempting to sell a shiny, dog-sized piece of debris.
"I found this near the Smoking Sea! It's still warm to the touch!" the pirate exclaid, referring to the dangerous area around the ruins of Valyria's end. He held the object out for everyone to see. When soone reached out to touch it, they recoiled in surprise. "It's really hot! It feels numb!" the man exclaid.
"Hot and tingly?" Viserys thought, shocked. ‘No, this can't be—uranium!’ He rembered reading on forums in his previous life that many who ventured to Valyria never returned, not just because of unknown monsters, but possibly due to "magic radiation" similar to nuclear fallout. This shiny, hot, and tingling object set off alarm bells in his mind. After all, he had ended up in this world after being caught in a tactical nuclear explosion.
"What do you think? It's a good find, right? A thousand gold dragons!" the pirate announced, trying to pitch his sale.
Dany, perched on Viserys's shoulder in her owl form, seed particularly interested in the object. She tilted her head in that owl-like way, rotating it far more than a human could, her yellow eyes fixed on the shiny piece.
"Focus!" Viserys whispered sharply to her.
Dany responded with a soft coo.
Viserys estimated that the total value of the treasures these pirates had brought could easily amount to 400,000 to 500,000 gold dragons. And with the bounties on the heads of the pirate leaders, the sum could rise even higher.
He glanced at the hole in the ceiling, noticing that a faint green mist was already starting to seep through. It was ti. He began making his way through the crowd towards the bottom of the hole. As soon as Viserys entered the area, Euron noticed him and the owl on his shoulder. Euron, recognizing Dany's behavior, suspected the owl was under the control of a Skinchanger. Removing his eye patch, he revealed a black pupil underneath, which flickered with a faint, eerie light that imdiately caught Dany's attention.
Viserys finally reached the bottom of the hole. He had taken a deep breath earlier, enough to sustain him for so ti. Although chlorine gas was harmful to the eyes, he knew it could be treated later, so he wasn’t too worried.
Just as he was about to instruct Dany to close her eyes and proceed with selling the dragon egg to the pirates, the owl suddenly panicked, burrowing desperately into his arms.
‘What’s happening? What could frighten a Soul Binder like this?’ he wondered. It dawned on him that there must be powerful sorcerers or wizards among the pirates, but with the plan already in motion, there was no turning back.
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