Chapter 107: Reassessing the Plan
"I disagreed with their plan from the very beginning!" Ian exclaimed with apparent emotion. "But I'm just a bastard and couldn't persuade my two brothers."
Illyrio looked at Daeron Grafton.
"Yes, Ser Ian didn't participate in our raid; he only agreed to come to Pentos to join His Grace," Daeron nodded. After spending time with Ian, his current principle was simply to go along with whatever Ian said.
"Very well, you've proven yourselves," Illyrio finally nodded again after a long silence. "Please remain here for now. Your four knights may also be brought into the manse. When the time is right, I will naturally introduce you to His Grace."
"What of Tarobyne?" Ian looked concerned.
"I'll deal with his matter; you need not trouble yourself over it anymore." Illyrio wiped his mouth and stood. "You needn't blame yourself for this, because I discovered everything on my own; you didn't betray anyone."
"Enjoy your evening." With that, Illyrio left the table.
Ian was still pondering the meaning of Illyrio's last words when he turned around to find over a dozen alluring Yunkish serving girls standing behind them.
Involuntarily touching his lower back, Ian patted Daeron Grafton on the shoulder: "They're all yours. Enjoy your evening."
With that, Ian fled the dining hall.
Back in his chamber, Ian quickly regained his composure.
The afternoon's... activities hadn't been truly exhausting, but feigning fatigue gave him a good excuse to limit his use of Illyrio's gifts, saving him more time for important matters.
And the first important matter he needed to address was reassessing his plan.
Not the plan to swear allegiance to Viserys, of course. The main quest reward was a substantial 5,000 gold dragons and 20 points, and he absolutely had to exploit the loophole that allowed him to claim legitimacy through both Viserys's authority and his identity as Darry's bastard son.
Moreover, judging from the content of Illyrio's test, the magister had no doubts about his identity. Illyrio had wanted to understand his values and capabilities, and ultimately, Ian had passed.
Now he only needed to wait to be introduced to Viserys to complete the second main quest.
The part of Ian's plan that truly needed reassessment was—after completing the second main quest, should he choose to leave Pentos, or follow Daenerys's original storyline as he had previously planned?
He had originally thought he'd taken Illyrio seriously enough.
After all, although Illyrio didn't feature prominently in the books, his history of rising from a common sellsword to the most powerful magister of Pentos through his partnership with the Spider Varys was enough reason for Ian to treat him with caution.
But after today's events, Ian realized he seemed to have underestimated Illyrio's intelligence network within Pentos.
Not only Ian himself, but even a prominent merchant like Tarobyne within Illyrio's own guild had underestimated the magister's reach—after all, if Tarobyne had realized that Illyrio could uncover the slave trade from a simple invitation, he wouldn't have entrusted the task to Ian and Daeron.
Ian's original plan had been to maintain a facade of loyalty to Illyrio while secretly expanding his network through the guild and profiting through intermediaries.
After all, once he completed the second main quest, he'd have over 12,000 gold dragons at his disposal. He couldn't just sit idle in Pentos for two months and let the coin gather dust.
But Illyrio's formidable intelligence capabilities had made Ian reconsider staying in Pentos. No matter how careful he was, there was always the risk of Illyrio discovering his schemes, which meant he couldn't pursue any covert money-making ventures.
But if he truly had to waste two months playing the fool in Pentos, he'd rather complete the second main quest and leave with his coin.
But what would he do after leaving?
Purchase a few ocean-going ships and trade with Yi Ti?
That was definitely the fastest way to make money besides obtaining resources from the system. The legendary "Sea Snake" Corlys Velaryon had once led a fleet of twenty great ships to the east, bringing back pepper, elephants, and silk. Six ships were lost at sea, and only fourteen returned to Westeros. Most of the elephants had also died during the voyage.
Despite these losses, House Velaryon had risen to become the wealthiest house in the Seven Kingdoms from the profits of that single voyage. Even House Lannister with its gold mines, and House Hightower which controlled Oldtown—the continent's greatest port—had to acknowledge their newfound wealth.
However, there were too many limitations to such a venture.
First, there was the cost. The great ships capable of traversing the Narrow Sea, the Summer Sea, and the Jade Sea to reach Yi Ti were comparable to contemporary carracks.
A carrack cost approximately 8,000 Venetian ducats, so three would cost around 24,000 ducats. Assuming one ducat weighed 3.56 grams and one gold dragon weighed 7.56 grams, 24,000 ducats would equal approximately 11,000 gold dragons.
In other words, if Ian wanted to sail to Yi Ti, he could afford at most three Pentoshi ocean-going vessels.
Assuming none of the three ships sank, a single voyage might yield around 30,000 gold dragons, and by selling the ships afterward, his wealth would roughly quadruple.
Second, there was the time investment. A round trip to Yi Ti would take at least a year, and with only thirty-odd players remaining, no one could predict what changes might occur in that time.
Third, there was the matter of risk. The Sea Snake was one of the greatest navigators in Westerosi history, yet he'd lost over a quarter of his fleet on a single journey to Yi Ti.
Someone completely ignorant of navigation—even if he used a skill scroll to learn seamanship and spent all six skill points to reach advanced proficiency—would still only be at the level of an ordinary ship's captain. To reach Yi Ti safely, he'd have to rely entirely on hiring an experienced captain, but skilled navigators were exceedingly rare and commanded high prices.
Shaking his head, Ian abandoned this plan.
But other business ventures were equally difficult to pursue. Highly profitable enterprises were usually monopolized, and Ian had neither commercial experience nor established connections, making it hard to find an opening.
The next moment, he considered farming.
There were indeed many unclaimed territories on the continent of Essos, or lands that had nominal owners but were effectively unmanaged.
For instance, in the former Andal homeland of Andalos, or the upper reaches of the Rhoyne in the former Rhoynar territories, one only needed to venture into the Disputed Lands, hire a mercenary company, and claim a piece of land.
However—
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