Chapter 57 — The Two Dragons Warm Up
The slave collars scattered across the ground left both the Great Masters and the slaves momentarily stunned.
As slaves bent down to pick up the shattered collars, the Great Masters finally realized—
Daenerys was not attacking the city.
She was attacking its heart.
Panicking, the Great Masters began shouting orders, driving the slaves back into their quarters, forbidding them from coming outside.
But the barrels kept falling.
They smashed onto rooftops, walls, and trees, spilling broken collars everywhere. The Great Masters and their freeborn retainers couldn't collect them fast enough.
With the collars already inside Meereen, Daenerys chose to wait and observe how the slaves would respond. She ordered the army to set up camp outside the city walls and rest.
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That night, while Daenerys was holding council in her tent, Varys's little birds arrived right on schedule. This time, the boy who delivered the message did not leave—he stayed behind to guide them personally.
Upon learning that Meereen could be entered through a sewage outlet, Daenerys immediately ordered Grey Worm to take a dozen men. Disguised as slaves, they were to follow the boy at first light and locate the drainage entrance.
After confirming the route, Grey Worm and his men each strapped on more than a dozen daggers and followed the seven- or eight-year-old boy to a spot five hundred meters north of Meereen's walls.
Tall weeds choked the land. Hidden beneath reeds taller than a man was a drainage ditch. Crawling through it, they reached the base of the city wall, where the sewer outlet was sealed with thick iron bars.
Grey Worm produced a pry bar. Four men worked together to wrench the bars loose from the stone. They slipped inside.
The sewer tunnel was tall enough for a man to stand upright. Filthy water reached only to their calves. Guided by the boy, they quickly found the exit.
From there, the boy led them to an abandoned stable not far away. Inside, dozens of slaves had gathered.
A young slave was speaking in a hushed voice:
"I've heard more than once at the docks about Daenerys, the Mother of Dragons. In Astapor, she had the Good Masters burned alive by dragonfire and cut the collars from the Unsullied—who then swore loyalty to her."
"She went to Yunkai and threw the Wise Masters into chains, freeing every slave. It's all true. You've seen the two dragons flying above the city—and the small one on her shoulder. The Great Masters can't stop dragonfire."
Grey Worm paused at the doorway, listening instead of stepping forward.
An older slave with greying hair shook his head.
"I took part in two slave uprisings when I was younger. Both failed. This leg was broken during the second one. I don't want my other leg broken too."
"I remember that revolt," another middle-aged slave said grimly. "He was lucky. Many others were executed. The Great Masters hate rebellion more than anything."
Grey Worm judged the moment right and stepped into the circle.
"The Mother of Dragons has come to free you," he said coldly. "Yet you still dare not rise up. With that kind of fear, you will never be free."
The slaves immediately grew wary upon seeing the unfamiliar faces behind him.
"And who are you?" the young slave asked cautiously.
"If you were on the walls today, you should have seen us," Grey Worm replied, scanning the crowd.
The young man's eyes widened.
"You're… Unsullied?"
Grey Worm nodded.
Another young slave hesitated, then spoke:
"The Great Masters forbid us from touching weapons. We only have hoes and tools. How are we supposed to fight them and their guards?"
Grey Worm said nothing.
He merely nodded to his men.
One by one, they dropped the cloth bundles from their shoulders.
Inside were short swords—finely forged steel, gleaming in the dim light.
Seeing the gleaming, razor-sharp daggers scattered across the floor, the slaves inside the stable immediately stirred.
"Take up your weapons! Kill the Great Masters! Open the gates and welcome your liberator—Daenerys Stormborn!"
Grey Worm raised his blade and hissed the command.
"Kill the Great Masters!"
"Kill the Great Masters!"
The sight of Grey Worm's curved blade sent blood surging through their veins. Slaves rushed forward, snatching up daggers, faces twisted with feral resolve. They waited only for Grey Worm's signal to surge out and butcher the Great Masters.
"Split into eight squads," Grey Worm ordered. "Follow my men through the alleys toward the city gates. Kill any Great Master or his men you encounter—leave no survivors. The rest, follow me. We open the gates and bring the Queen into Meereen."
After assigning his forces, Grey Worm led more than twenty men as the first group bursting out of the stable.
The remaining squads, each led by an Unsullied officer, dispersed to sow chaos across the city. Grey Worm slipped through the shortest route toward the city gates, silently observing the guards.
Ten minutes later, the sounds of fighting and screams erupted from nearby buildings. The gate officer heard the commotion and immediately ordered his men to investigate.
Before those men could return, clashes broke out elsewhere. Realizing something was wrong, the officer recalled the slave collars hurled into the city earlier that day and instantly understood what was happening.
He sent men to warn the Great Masters and pulled more guards away from the gate to suppress the uprisings—fearing that rebels might try to seize the gates.
Watching from the shadows, Grey Worm saw the guards thinning. Knowing reinforcements would soon arrive, he seized the moment.
He led the Unsullied and armed slaves charging out from the alley.
The gate officer, already on edge, never expected more than twenty attackers to erupt from a narrow street, daggers flashing coldly in the moonlight.
These weren't ordinary slaves.
The thought barely formed before a blade slashed toward his face. He raised his weapon to block—and instantly felt the opponent's deadly skill.
Time was short. Grey Worm fought without restraint. Taking a cut to his arm, he countered and killed the officer with two swift strikes, then turned on the remaining guards.
Facing such relentless attackers, the guards' morale collapsed. Seeing their commander fall, they abandoned the fight, retreating while desperately trying to defend themselves.
Grey Worm cut his way to the gate. Three swift strikes killed two guards. He tore free the gate bar and, with his comrades, heaved the massive doors open.
Daenerys had already been waiting at a distance. The moment the gates moved, she ordered the army forward.
Unsullied shields rose, deflecting the rain of arrows from the walls.
At the same time, Rhaegal and Viserion soared above the battlements.
Twin torrents of dragonfire engulfed the walls. Guards screamed and scattered—some leaping from the towering ramparts to escape the flames.
After two blasts of fire, the dragons descended into the chaos, tearing through defenders with fang, claw, and tail.
Now as large as young horses, ordinary blades could scarcely harm them. Repeated brutal "training" at Drogon's claws had hardened their bodies and sharpened their combat instincts far beyond before.
Even amid the melee, they dodged spears hurled from unseen hands. By the battle's end, only a patch of wing membrane was lightly torn—the results of their training undeniable.
Drogon did not take part in the assault. He watched instead, carefully evaluating the twins' performance and adjusting his plans for their future training.
Once the gates fell, the city erupted.
Slaves throughout Meereen rose up, aiding the Unsullied and mercenaries in hunting down hiding Great Masters and freeing those locked away in dungeons.
Meereen burned—not with fire alone, but with rebellion.