After reaching a preliminary agreement with the Black Pearl, Baelor, Viserys Targaryen still had to return to his Red Door courtyard.
The Black Pearl's flower boat dropped him and Syrio off by a canal, and Viserys and Syrio were just a few steps away from home.
Some agreements are written with pen and paper, but others are forged in blood and fire.
There was no written agreement between Viserys and the Black Pearl; how long this agreement would last depended on their mutual trust.
As a top courtesan and broker, the Black Pearl had a network that covered Braavos.
Viserys could currently only be described as one of the young men who had caught the Black Pearl's eye.
How many resources Viserys could obtain from the Black Pearl depended on the value he demonstrated.
"I thought something would happen between you two," Syrio said regretfully. "Although the Black Pearl is very careful to maintain her mystery, such a handsome young man, a descendant of the True Dragon no less, could attract every maiden in love."
Viserys had short, silver-white hair, and his pale purple eyes were filled with determination. Only those who truly knew him could see the burning fire, ambition, and resilience in those eyes.
He was splendid yet dangerous, tall, muscular, and exceptionally talented with a sword.
"A True Dragon is an honor, but also trouble. Besides, she is the Black Pearl, not an ordinary maiden," Viserys replied. They were currently in a cooperative relationship. "Even if I wanted to, the Black Pearl wouldn't be so casual."
"That's true," Syrio nodded.
The most cunning hunters often appear as prey; these top courtesans are not easily pursued unless one offers enough, and the courtesan genuinely admires the client.
Top courtesans rarely genuinely fall in love with a man; usually, this happens when they are older and need to retire from the stage to cultivate new courtesans.
And according to Syrio's understanding of Viserys, Viserys was not yet wealthy enough to afford a courtesan.
Moreover, Viserys's focus was on strengthening himself and making money; otherwise, he could easily have flirted with a few minor courtesans.
"One day, sooner or later, I will unarm the Black Pearl, hmph," Viserys thought to himself.
"The Black Pearl's influence is unparalleled. When foreign envoys and traders come to Braavos and want to set up a meeting, they can't do without the Black Pearl's mediation," Syrio said, seemingly very familiar with the Black Pearl. "You've boarded this ship; from now on, you'll be able to navigate Braavos with ease."
"I hope so," Viserys said.
"You've done well, Viserys. Beauty is a sharp blade, but you need to hone another sword now."
"Do I need to drink blood again?" Viserys looked at Syrio, his Silver Sword needing to taste blood once more.
"Yes, this is the way of the Water Dancer," Syrio wiped his fingers. "If you wish to find the Way of the Sight, you must dance the bloody Water Dance."
Viserys had already anticipated this; in addition to sparring with the instructors, real combat in Braavos was also essential.
Mainly because Braavos had too many Water Dancers who specialized in creating trouble and staging accidents.
Finding an opponent was very easy.
"If you feel uncomfortable, we can take it slow," Syrio said, looking at Viserys. "Not everyone is accustomed to seeing longswords drink blood, and you've lived a pampered life for over a decade as a lord's son."
"To take up the sword and become a warrior, this is the life I have chosen," Viserys said firmly. "I need time and experience to surpass the Conqueror."
For his own safety, to prepare for future wars, and to gain the support of lords and knights.
Viserys had to become a warrior, and a top-tier one at that.
"Very good," Syrio nodded in satisfaction. "Faster, stronger, more dangerous. The Way of the Sight lies in continuous refinement."
"Come, let's have a drink," Viserys said to Syrio after returning to the courtyard. "The lemonade on the Black Pearl's ship was a bit bland."
"Alright," Syrio nodded.
Viserys set up a small table in the courtyard and invited Syrio, Moro, and Ser Roland Lake.
The tabletop was illuminated by a warm orange-gold light, adorned with various fine wines.
Arbor Gold wine, Dornish Summerwine, Tyroshi Pear Brandy.
Arbor Gold wine, the flagship product of the Arbor, sold across the Narrow Sea and a source of revenue for the Iron Throne.
The only comparable Summerwine was a red wine from Dorne, sweet and rich in fruit aroma.
A common variety was brewed from honey plums, cherries, and black oak.
Tyroshi Pear Brandy was also good, though with a higher alcohol content, made from the distinctive large white pears of Tyrosh.
"These are all renowned wines of the world," Ser Roland Lake said, his eyes lighting up.
Although Viserys's restoration team was still in its early stages, there was no shortage of good food and drink to be had, at least for their palates.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The sweet, fruity aroma of Summerwine filled their mouths, bringing a slight smile to the drinkers' lips.
"What fine wines! Dornish wine is sweet, Arbor wine is rich, and Tyroshi brandy is fiery," Syrio said with a touch of regret. "The best wines still come from Westeros; Braavos doesn't have such good wines."
This was true; Braavos's water came from the nearby continent, and the grain transported from the local Andal lands was all for self-consumption, leaving Braavos's wines rather unremarkable.
The Andals produced a sour wine locally, which could only be considered low-quality.
"Have you ever had stronger alcohol?" Viserys asked Syrio and the others.
"No," they all shook their heads. "At most, it's Arbor Gold and Summerwine; some even drink ale."
Currently, the strongest alcohol was pear brandy, while whiskey, tequila brandy, and golden rum had not yet appeared.
But the Known World had barley, wheat, corn, sugarcane, plums, pears, beets, and other plants, as well as coal, peat, and likely agave plants.
Raw materials were not lacking; only a process of purification and distillation was needed to produce a newer, more classic alcohol.
Agave was difficult to obtain now, and it had a long growth cycle, but the raw materials for whiskey and rum were much simpler.
"We can try this," Viserys pulled out another bottle of rum as black as pitch.
"This is one of the sailors' favorite drinks," Syrio said, referring to the black pitch rum.
They each sampled a glass. This wine had a peculiar taste, easy to get drunk on; sweet on the palate, but with a strong aftertaste that burned the tongue.
"This wine is alright, but it doesn't fetch a high price. The wines sailors drink aren't usually well-processed," Moro commented after tasting the rum.
Viserys looked at the dark rum in the glass. The taste of rum certainly had much room for improvement.
If he dedicated himself to a new golden rum, removing impurities, it would truly open up the rum market.
"Making some 'water of life' is also a way to get rich," Viserys had already considered a new avenue: the alcohol market.
Starting with golden rum.
However, Viserys would not establish a factory in Braavos, but rather wait until he had new territory.
Historically, alcoholic beverages fell into two main categories: fermented wines and distilled spirits. Arbor Gold and Summerwine were fermented, while pear brandy was distilled.
Fermented wines would later flourish and even surpass distilled spirits.
But distilled spirits had great potential for development, and the market for pear brandy had always been below that of wine.
Alcohol was very popular on both sides of the Narrow Sea, and it was a lucrative golden industry.
This was mainly due to two factors: one was social necessity, as everyone was very fond of drinking.
The second was that the water quality of that era was only mediocre, especially compared to contaminated water sources during military campaigns.
Many times, for safety, alcohol was safer than drinking water.
Traditional methods of making money were too slow; he needed to come up with some new tricks.
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