Pre-Chapter A/N:Another chapter on time? Guess my lock-in is going pretty well. If you haven't already, I recommend turning on notifications for my stuff so you can see when new stuff drops right as it drops. Next five chapters on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio.
XXXXX- SEVEN MOONS BEFORE THE WEDDING
The ships were ready now. And they were beautiful. A double-layered hull with a copper sheathing made each one have a presence in the water that belied their size. Individually, each ship was a small bit smaller than the standard ship in the fleet when it came to actually useful space, even though they each had larger profiles than the ships they were based on.
Cargo space would have been an issue if the crew was not so small. Vaemond had done his best, but he had been able to secure only twelve men per ship. It turned out that even the offer of life-changing gold was not enough to tempt a lot of people to take what they viewed as a suicide mission. Of course, the need to find a crew had meant that the entire island knew just what we were up to.
I would have to trust Parvella to keep things from devolving into chaos in my absence. Well, that and the fact that I was leaving Igneel behind. It was not a choice that pleased him, but thankfully he was able to understand the logic of the situation. He didn't like it, but he was able to understand it at least. He had a key role to play in what was to come, after all. I hadn't been too far from him, but I was reasonably certain that distance would do little to affect our bond. So that meant he could be my eyes and ears in my Kingdom while I was away.
"Is everything in order?" I asked Vaemond, staring at the ships as they waited at port.
"The last of the men are saying their goodbyes now. Those with families, at least," he said.
I turned to the side and saw one man hold a crying woman and little child while another knelt before a woman clearly too old to rise from her chair as he wept into her legs.
"Surely they know it's not a death sentence?" I scoffed at the sight.
"I fear they might know the truth of things better than we do," he said.
"Having second thoughts now, Uncle?" I asked, shooting him a smirk.
"Second, third, fourth, and fifth. But you are just as your father was. Unchangeable once your mind has set itself on a course. If I said I wouldn't come, you'd take a crew and leave regardless. If I tried to stop that, you would overrule me. So the best place for me as far as you are concerned is the same place I stayed for your father while he lived—by your side. If we are to die in Valyria, then we will do that together," he said.
"No need to be so grim, Uncle. We won't be dying. Have some faith in me, will you?" I asked, and he just nodded before walking towards the ships. Something told me that he wouldn't be having much in the way of faith for a long time.
"You did the calculations, yes?" I asked as the next person took their spot at my side.
"One month to get there, one month to come back. You have three months' worth of rations on each ship. The good part about you getting such a slim crew is that it means fewer mouths to feed," she said.
"Also means fewer swords pointed at my enemies if it comes to it," I said.
"By all accounts, whatever remains on the island is going to be half-starved and more than half-mad," she said.
"The Stone Men. Well, we will see about it when the time comes. I would have hoped for more numbers on my side, but then even ten disciplined men can rout a hundred with the right commander," I said.
Parvella remained silent by my side.
"Not going to try to dissuade me?" I asked.
"You know the odds better than I do. So what is there for me to tell you? You are confident and because you are confident, I have no choice but to be. I will, however, mention that I think it unlikely that your ruse will last for the whole period of your absence," she said.
"I just need it to last for a month. So we're far enough away that neither Mother nor Laena will try to follow. You know what to do when they write. I've given you dozens of replies to any letters they will be likely to send. Use your discretion to decide which to send," I said.
"If you die, I think your sister will make her dragon eat me," she said.
"Laena's not the sort for that."
"You say that now, but you are not the one that had to convince her that I had no interest in seducing my way into your bed," she said.
"And I'm sure you told her that she's more your type than I am?"
"I made my offer. She rejected it, quite predictably, but for those few seconds where I was yet to convince her, I could see my life be weighed in her eyes. Hiding something like this from her... something tells me it won't end well," she said.
"I don't think it will. Well, you better pray to whichever gods you've chosen to follow this week that I return in one piece then," I said.
"The Black Goat will see you safely across," she said.
"Really? The Black Goat? Are you running out of plausible options?" I asked with a chuckle.
"He's just as likely as the Seven Gods who are actually one god," she said.
"If a Septon heard you, they'd see that blasphemous tongue of yours plucked out. I have half a mind to see it done myself," I warned.
"You'd miss this blasphemous tongue of mine way too much if you did that."
"And it is jokes like that that almost got you roasted by Vhagar. Do better. And watch out for my Mother. My sister's rage runs hot and burns itself out in no time. My Mother's runs cold and for far longer."
"Brilliant. Please don't get me killed, my Lord."
"I'll try my best. Just hope you've done your part of things," I said.
"If you die, it won't be for any lack of equipment, I can assure you of that much. Far-eyes, compasses, arms and armor, food, water, there is nothing you lack," she said.
"Except alcohol," I pointed out.
"I followed your instructions on that as well. Barely enough alcohol to give the illusion that some was packed. Your crew will not be getting drunk anywhere near as often as sailors would expect to on a journey of this length."
"I'm sure that will frustrate them, but I will need their sharpness more than their happiness for what is to come," I said.
"I increased the amount of alchemist's pitch in the stores. We had some extra space after all was said and done, and I decided to give you much more to work with. If you have to kill anything, killing it with fire should be within your ambit," she said.
"Good choice," I commended her.
"My Lord?" she called as I finally turned to leave.
"Yes, Parvella?"
"Come back." Two simple words, but laced with so much emotion.
"I will," I promised, keeping it simple as well. I nodded once it was clear there was nothing left to say and then I made my way to the ships. They were petite compared to the monstrosity that was my flagship, but that was by design. They were designed to cut through the water like nothing else. With sails that could reverse to catch the wind at whatever angle. There were special holes in the side through which oars could be fitted. Something told me we'd have little in the way of wind to help our journey along once we were in the Smoking Sea.
On the deck, there was less standing room than would be expected for a ship this size. There were four automatically reloading Scorpions on the deck. One pointed in each direction. They could be pulled to change direction, of course, but that would take time so it was best to just have one in each direction. Whatever reservations I had about possibly causing the death of dragons by unleashing automatically reloading Scorpions had been buried by the necessity. I had no idea what we would be encountering there and it was better to be safe than sorry.
I'd worry about my actions when I came back alive. Besides, even with automatic reloading, Scorpions were still far from sure dragon-killers. They didn't even get bumped up to likely dragon-killers. It took a one-in-a-million chance to a one-in-five-hundred-thousand.
"All aboard!" I called, signaling everyone to get moving so we could be up and moving while the sun was still yet to hit its stride.
It took thirty minutes after my call for our ships to set off. With the benefit of compasses and two people who Vaemond had assured me were some of the best navigators in all the Velaryon fleet—why they had signed up for this mission, I did not know—we cut a straight line for the Smoking Sea.
To get there, we had to pass by both Lys and Volantis. Where normally we would have chosen to dock at either of them to shake off some of the cabin fever of our crew and restock on something other than dried rations, this was not a normal trip and these were not normal times. While relations with the Triarchy had stabilized to the point where we now did regular business with each other, I had little doubt that any of them would say no to a chance to wipe me off the board while my dragon was nowhere to be found. It was what I would do in their place, as well.
A "pirate attack" anywhere between here and the Smoking Sea would be impossible to question. I'd pissed off every surviving pirate out there as well, after all. Pirates trembled to come into the Narrow Sea because of the punishments the Velaryon fleet levied. The risk of losing one hand and your balls was enough to make any man turn over a new leaf. Then there was the branding as well. It was something I stole from history in my old world and it worked just as well in this one. The brand told my people to never trust those who bore them and hiding them was next to impossible. Wearing a cloak that covered most of one's face just was not a thing most people did—contrary to how Hollywood would like to portray this time period.
You'd get stopped and questioned quicker for acting suspicious than you would get recognized in a sea of random bodies in most situations. I turned from the sea and marched beneath the deck. I knew the route so well I did not need to light a torch. First of all, there was the entryway. The cargo hold and cabins were separated from the main deck by a short and narrow corridor. Sealed on both ends with wax around the doorway to prevent the gases of the Smoking Sea leaking within. I knew a small amount of exposure was little danger, so we tried to keep our exposure as minimal as possible. When the time came, there would be a skeleton crew above the deck setting our direction and keeping watch. Most of us would be beneath the deck while half of those beneath the deck would handle the oars to keep the ship moving. It was the kind of work that every spare hand would have to participate in—even mine.
I moved for my cabin. The space would probably be more efficiently used if I didn't insist on having a private cabin for my use, but I would rather leave some gold behind than be forced to share a cabin with twelve unwashed sailors.
XXXX- TWO WEEKS INTO THE JOURNEY
I weaved left, allowing his blade to miss by the very skin of my teeth before I danced back to the right to avoid the next attack and compensate for the rocking of the ship. He attempted a straight stab that I whacked to the side before tangling my feet with his and watching as he crashed to the deck in a heap. One more point to me, I noted before stepping back and waiting for him to rise again.
There was this idea among some swordsmen that everyone's martial peak was predetermined at birth. Some people were destined to be great fighters, and some were not. It was all bullshit, I felt. Why? Because Ben was proof that it was not true. He got better and better as a fighter day after day. When he had first been chosen as my sworn shield over a decade ago, he had been a good fighter. Skilled, but not exceptional. He was a political appointment more than a purely merit-based one.
But the time had been kind to him. As I got better, so did he. He had reached the kind of level where when I wasn't pulling on Igneel to take my strength, speed, and reactions to the next level, he could actually give me a good fight with a sword in hand. But all of that seemed to matter little as we sparred on the deck. It had been a long time since I had sparred on a ship and there was only so much one could do on a ship with a pre-determined course—so, of course, sparring had been the choice.
And that was when I had found that Ben was many things—but a good fighter on the deck of a ship was not one of them. It turned out that very few people were. The sailors who were willing to pick up practice blades against me were passable, but they were far from good. It felt like they didn't even try to predict the rocking of the ship. They waited to react to it and by then it was always too late. They were always adjusting and never pre-empting. That was the mistake they kept making, and no matter how many times I pointed it out to Ser Ben, he treated it like I was speaking High Valyrian.
That was why the present score was seventeen to nil. But credit to him, he did not give up. His performance had deteriorated to the point where it was probably best that we called it quits before someone—more likely him—got injured though.
"One more round and we call it a day," I said, waiting for him to take a stance. The sun was still high in the sky. There were still hours before it set, so I would take the entertainment while I could.
He took his own stance and just like every other round we'd gone through today, he stepped forward, moving twice and dragging his other foot behind him as he maintained the stance before reaching the edges of my range. Then the blade was up and lashing out for the newest weakness it could find.
— — — THREE WEEKS INTO THE JOURNEY
The Smoking Sea was special in a lot of ways. For one, it was visible even from a distance without the far-eye. I could see the steam that flew from it even miles away as we were. It was probably possible for a very attentive person to catch this phenomenon all the way from Volantis with the right kind of equipment. We had passed Lys, and then Volantis near a week ago at this point and would be within the Smoking Sea proper in a matter of days. That meant it was time to go over the safety protocols once again.
I'd informed everyone upon setting sail as to the protocol we would be following. I had set the schedule for above-deck duties and for oar rowing duties, making certain to give myself a notable, if lesser, share of both duties to avoid seeming like the uppity self-important noble I was in reality. It played to my advantage to have them thinking I was some sort of bastion of humility who was different from the rest.
Engendering some loyalty based on more than fear was a good idea considering where we were going and what we would be doing there.
"Gather around everyone," I called, and I held up one of the plague suits to view.
"Once we are within the Smoking Sea—in fact, once we are hours out—no one will come above deck without one of these. Each one of you has had one specially made for you and they will be kept in the entranceway to the hold. Put them on before coming above deck, and be sure to take them off and splash water on them before returning to the brig. If you want to die, then go ahead and do what you like, but if any of you happen to bring the rest of us in danger from your actions, I will kill you myself and see to it that whatever family or friend you have left behind suffer the fruits of your actions. Before we make landfall at Tyria, there shall be two sets of duties that each person will be expected to rotate through. You shall serve either above deck, maintaining our heading and steering us through the journey to come. The second group shall make use of this ship's oars to keep us a steady pace and let us get through faster than we would manage by just drifting on the waters. And then beyond that…" I continued, trying to make sure every failsafe and safety precaution I'd thought up was pounded in their heads.
A/N: And another chapter bites the dust. Smoking Sea next, and Valyria/Tyria after that. Next five chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early.