Chapter 152: Pentos's Overall Situation
"What brings you here, my lord?" Steward Mills was stopped by Ian on the gravel path, so he asked. His attitude was very respectful, because he knew that the young man before him was a key figure being groomed by Magister Illyrio.
"I'm sorry, Master Mills," Ian said with a smile. "I have some things I'd like to know, but I can't find Hazru (the Little Mouse) right now, so I had no choice but to ask you." He paused for a moment. "By the way, are you taking a walk? We can walk together." With that, Ian gestured for him to join him.
Mills nodded and continued walking, with Ian following beside him.
"Hazru isn't in this manse right now; he's busy. Pentos is brewing a storm," Mills said, then asked, "You want to see him? Is something wrong?"
"No," Ian shook his head. "Actually, what I'm worried about is this storm. Isn't the life-or-death battle between Prince Hazan and Suthra Tetrus about to begin the day after tomorrow? I have a bad feeling about this. A trial by combat... hopefully it won't turn into a civil war, will it?"
"To be honest, this trend has already begun," Steward Mills nodded. "According to our informants, the private armies of the Haukott and Tetrus families in the nearby villages have already set off for Pentos and are expected to be in the city by tomorrow night. They distrust each other and are both trying to prevent the other from turning on them.
Magister Tetrus is the most distrustful, because he has many sons and can afford to lose one. But he knows that Hazan is the core figure of the Braavosi faction, and Hazan's side cannot afford to lose.
Magister Groleo Tetrus has publicly stated that if anyone attempts to disrupt the match to save Hazan's life after they are at a disadvantage, he will take action. And Hazan and his side will be forced to respond by gathering their forces."
"However," Steward Mills changed the subject, "both magisters have, in fact, expressed their desire to avoid war to His Excellency Illyrio and former Magister Rotalus behind the scenes.
To avoid potential conflict, Magister Illyrio has agreed to exchange his sellsword company responsible for the defense of the southern quarter with Magister Groleo Tetrus's sellswords in the western quarter. This will separate his forces from Prince Hazan's sellswords."
"Aren't there sellsword companies stationed in the east, south, and north quarters as well?"
"Our newly hired sellswords are for defending against the Dothraki; they are deployed on three sides of the city walls, and the western quarter is by the sea." Steward Mills chuckled. "Don't worry, even if a civil war breaks out, you living in this manse won't be affected. In fact, I can even assure you that our entire western quarter will remain unaffected."
"Why?"
"The western quarter is our guild's traditional sphere of influence. We have eight hundred long-trained guild guards there, and in the harbor, we can readily mobilize six hundred to a thousand sailors from our resting ships.
Add to that the five hundred Unsullied in the magister's various residences and the guards in the residences of the magister's allies, and no matter which side we lean toward, the other side is doomed. This is the foundation of Magister Illyrio's neutrality. No one dares to risk angering us by entering the western quarter." Mills was simply stating a fact, but it sounded quite imposing.
"But the problem is," Ian chuckled, "I've already accepted Prince Hazan's invitation to attend the match at the Prince's Palace."
"You can rest assured about that too, because the security outside the Prince's Palace during the match will be handled by the First Company of Magister Rotalus. They number eight hundred men, all truly elite.
The First Company will control all the street corners near the Prince's Palace—this was agreed upon by Prince Hazan and Magister Tetrus. Neither the Volantene nor the Braavosi forces will be allowed near the Prince's Palace.
As for the two hundred palace guards inside the Prince's Palace...you are a friend of Prince Hazan, so shouldn't it be Suthra Tetrus and his men who are worried about foul play?"
"Is Magister Rotalus reliable? Is it possible he's been bribed by the Tetrus family?" Ian certainly wouldn't suggest he'd been bribed by Hazan. "After all, you previously stated that in the Magister's Council, he sided with the Volantene faction and supported the war against the Braavosi faction."
"I vouch for Magister Rotalus's honor, Ian. He would never allow anyone to disrupt Pentos's traditions and order, much less conspire with them."
An Eddard Stark-like figure? Ian had a general idea, but he didn't rule out the possibility that the man was compromised.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts; that puts my mind at ease." Ian finished asking his questions and thanked him. "If there's nothing else, please allow me to take my leave."
"As you wish." Steward Mills didn't try to stop him and watched Ian leave.
After returning to his chambers, Ian first sent Rol to find 'Little Mouse' Hazru and have him summon Hazru's informants investigating the Red Temple and the Ginny Taymee incident, as well as the priestesses from the Red Temple who belonged to Illyrio's faction. Then, he used skinchanging to enter the body of a hawk and flew into the night sky.
Ian didn't fly very high, just over three hundred feet. Although it was night, thanks to the hawk's far superior vision, he could clearly see everything on the ground.
He had just preliminarily verified his guess, and now he needed to conduct a reconnaissance of the entire Pentos to further verify his hypothesis from a broader perspective.
After circling Pentos, Ian scouted the newly hired sellsword camps in the north, east, and south. At least for tonight, everything seemed normal.
Then there were the residences of the three magisters—Haukott, Tetrus, and Mopatis—as well as Prince Hazan; their guards and private armies had already entered the city in considerable numbers.
The most elite among them were the two hundred heavy cavalry under Groleo Tetrus. Their arrival filled the stables of Magister Tetrus's residence—each of them had three horses, one of which was a large destrier, equipped with barding.
Ian could see from the sentries that their equipment was uniform: scale armor, open-faced helms, longswords, morningstars, and kite shields.
Although the urban terrain wasn't ideal for cavalry combat, with this equipment, they were formidable in foot combat as well.
These men certainly gave Magister Tetrus the confidence to demand that Hazan not cheat in the tournament.
And Hazan's ally, Magister Haukott's private army was no less formidable—at least in urban warfare; his men were all infantry, but equally well-equipped.
If war broke out, these private soldiers, the sellswords they commanded who had been mobilized to fight the Dothraki, and the city guard they originally controlled would be the main force in the war.
Afterwards, Ian returned to the western quarter, where he scouted the headquarters of the Illyrio Merchant Guild, the Red Temple atop the hill, the harbor, and Freedom Street near the border of the western and southern quarters, as well as the Jomma Inn, jokingly referred to as the 'Sellsword's Hall'.
(End of Chapter)
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