Game of Thrones: Royal Game

Chapter 308 The Earl of Griffin
As soon as he got on the deck, the stench from the ship made Jon Connington almost sick.

It was a mixed smell of sweat, excrement, and putrefaction, and it was very similar to the smell of rotting corpses, or the smell of festering boils and festering wounds.

This reminded the old Griffin of the journey back to King's Landing from Stone Hall. At that time, during the Usurper's War, he surrounded the leader of the rebel army, Robert Baratheon, in Stone Hall. To tarnish one's own honor without directly setting fire to Shitang town.

He chose to hunt Robert from house to house, so that he delayed until the arrival of rebel reinforcements, and the famous 'Battle of the Bells' broke out.

In that battle, Jon Connington seriously wounded the Duke of Hoster in the River Run Valley, and beheaded the heir of the valley, Ser Dennis Arryn, until he and Robert, who had killed six enemies, were on the stone steps of the church. Meet face to face.

There, Jon officially experienced the power of the warhammer in the hands of Robert, the first warrior of the Seven Kingdoms. Robert's fatal hammer shattered his sword and shook his entire right hand unconscious.

If it weren't for several loyal guards who rescued Jon in time, perhaps he would have been killed by Robert on the spot.

Afterwards, Jon abandoned the defeated army and fled to King's Landing with a few guards. The rebel cavalry pursued so tightly that they didn't even have time to clean their wounds. Many people's wounds festered on the road. It tastes almost exactly like this.

Shaking his head and putting the painful memories behind him, Jon took out the flagon at his waist, poured wine into a clean handkerchief, and handed the handkerchief to little Aegon Targaryen who was following him.

"I'm about to throw up," Aegon took the handkerchief to cover his nose, and finally couldn't help complaining, "What the hell was on this boat?"

The scorching sun was in the sky, and under the baking of the sun, a strong stench evaporated from the deck, so that the salty air and fishy smell in the harbor were all buried.

"Wounded, or dead, who knows?" Jon shrugged. "I only care if it's fast enough."

"The sloop and slender hull are a guarantee of speed, and the tavernkeeper promises that it is the fastest ship we can find in Volantis now."

"The owner of the tavern probably wouldn't lie to us, but it's too inappropriate," Jon Connington walked to the edge of the deck and looked outside, "The last time we came to Volantis. At that time you were still young, I'm afraid I don't remember much, but I know very well that the port was full of ships at that time.

They were sailing up the Lorne or heading south out to sea, or they were loading and unloading at berths and quaysides.Warships, barges, galleons, barges, gigantic barges, longships, swan-boats are all there.

The Volantenes liked to boast that the hundred-odd islands of Braavos could all be sunk in their deep-water harbour, and that might be an exaggeration, but it wasn't too far off.

"But it doesn't look like that at all here now?" Aegon couldn't help asking.

At this moment, Volantis Port looks a bit desolate. Of course, this is only for the magnitude of Volantis Port itself.If you want to compare it with the ports of Lys, Myr or Tyrosh, it is still a prosperous and prosperous world, but if you want to touch the port of Braavos, you will be a little overwhelmed.

"That's because the ships have all gone to Slaver's Bay." A voice answered the doubts of Aegon and Jon, and they both turned around, only to find that the captain they had been waiting for for a long time finally showed up.

There was an undisguised greed in the light green eyes of the captain, and there were several menacing crew members behind him.

"Why are so many ships going to Slaver's Bay?" Jon asked naturally, not showing any timidity because of the large number of people on the other side.

"Waiting for the slaves." A contemptuous smile appeared on the captain's face. "The gith people are crazy. I heard that a count from your Westeros set Khal Drogo in Pentos and stole it." His bride fled to Slaver's Bay. I don't know what happened to the people in Slaver's Bay, but they all formed an alliance with that lunatic and wanted to fight the Dothraki people."

Jon and Aegon looked at each other, and they both saw disbelief in each other's eyes.

"The people in Slaver's Bay you mentioned just now?"

"Meereen, Yunkai, Astapor, and New Ghis have all joined that lunatic's alliance." The captain spread his hands and said with a smile, "That's why Slaver's Bay can attract so many captains, whether they are slave traders or not. All done.

If the Dothraki win, then they will be able to buy all the valuable slaves, free people and even nobles in Slave Bay from the Dothraki, and sack the three cities that have been sacked by the centaurs. Doss The Rak are only interested in sculptures and handicrafts, and will not take real money, which will make them a fortune.

And if the Gith really win by luck, they can also buy a large number of Lazarin slaves and Dothraki slaves from the Gith. Of course, I am referring to women and children here. Adult Dothraki men are sold It won't drop, hahaha. "

"We must go to Slaver's Bay and stop that madman before the war breaks out," Aegon whispered in Jon's ear, who was only sixteen but already as tall as Jon, "we must convince my aunt Take the army out of Slavery Bay, otherwise they will consume our capital for restoring the country for nothing."

"By the way," before Jon could answer, the ship owner who had already said hi asked suddenly, "I don't seem to have asked why you came to my ship?"

"The two of us need to find a ship to go to Slaver's Bay," Jon answered immediately.

"Then it's really a coincidence that you came here. If it had been two weeks earlier, this place would be full of ships going to Slaver's Bay." The owner of the ship shook his head regretfully.

"I mean we want to hire your boat to take us to Slave Bay." Jon Clinton immediately changed his expression, "The owner of the tavern on the pier recommended your boat to us."

"Why don't you guess why I still stayed here at this time and didn't go to Slaver's Bay to take a share?" The captain laughed again, but Jon instinctively felt that his smile was disgusting.

"I pay five times the fare." Jon didn't want to tangle with him.

"Ten times won't work. Our 'Bloody Flower' Chamber of Commerce has already been blacklisted by the Giss. As long as we appear in the port of any city in Slaver's Bay, we will be attacked immediately." The ship owner finally stopped laughing this time. Yes, said very helplessly.

"Just change the sails and paint off the logo on the hull? This kind of trivial thing can also prevent you from making a fortune?" Jon didn't ask why they were blacklisted, and he didn't need to think about it. act.

"It is people from other chambers of commerce who stop us from making a fortune. As long as they find us in Slaver's Bay, they will never hesitate to report us. People are the creatures that are best at making trouble."

"According to what you said, the boats that could go to Slaver's Bay had already set off two weeks ago. Doesn't that mean that we can't find a boat to go to Slaver's Bay here at all?"

"It's not so absolute." The captain looked Jon and Aegon up and down, "There are many mercenary regiments in the harbor area of ​​Volantis recruiting people, and when they are full, they will go to Slaver's Bay You look like a swordsman," said the captain, patting the solid arm of the old griffin, "and your son is tall enough, if you sign up to join the mercenary group, you should be able to follow their ship To Slaver's Bay."

"Why are those mercenary groups going to Slaver's Bay?" Jon asked strangely, "Could it be that they still dare to fight the Dothraki?"

"Earl Darry of Astapor said that he paid three times the price to recruit these mercenaries."

"Borrowing what you said just now, ten times will not work," Jon shook his head, "mercenaries will fight for money, but they will not die for money."

The Earl of the Griffon has been serving in the Golden Company since he was exiled to Essos by the Mad King Iris because of the failure of the Battle of the Bell. Until Varys and Illyrio brought Rhaegar's son Aegon to find him, there was no People know more about mercenaries than he does.

"That's why they haven't set off until now," the captain shrugged. "Perhaps I didn't make it clear just now. The recruitment order issued by Earl Darry has no deadline. That is to say, even if the mercenaries are defeated after he defeats the Dothraki. People who arrive at Slaver Bay later can also get three times the reward."

"Are they going to accept Earl Darry's employment after the Great War?" Jon laughed, "Let's not talk about what Earl Darry hired them after the Great War. Do they really think that the Ghis are in the Dothraki's place?" Is there a chance in front of you?"

"It's better if there is no chance of winning. If the Ghislian army is defeated by the horsemen, who can grab the most spoils when the three cities of Slave Bay are looted?" Speaking of which, the captain paused, "Okay, what should I say? I’ve already told you what I need to say, I can’t go to Slaver’s Bay, and Ming Lu has also pointed it out to you, so get off the boat.”

"Thank you." Jon took out a stamped nude!The woman handed the lys gold coin to the captain, and took Aegon off the ship.

Stepping on the stone slab of the pier again, Jon could feel the temperature from the soles of his feet through his leather boots.

They walked west along the harbor street, where fishmongers shouted their morning's catch, and Jon made out plenty of hake, swordfish, sardines, barrels of mussels, and clams.There are also hawkers selling cooked food, like fish steaks with onions and beets, or a fish stew with a peppery aroma.

"Would you like something to eat?" Jon asked Aegon, stopping in front of a stall.

"How can I be in the mood to think about this now?" Aegon was a little irritable. "What should we do now? If we can't find a boat, we can only go to Slaver's Bay by land."

"Overland." Jon sneered and shook his head. "Volantis does have a land route to Meereen. It is an ancient Valyrian stone road. It used to be called the Dragon Road but now, It has earned an even more ominous name - Devil's Road. Not to mention the treacherous road, it takes too long to travel by land."

"That is to join the mercenary group?"

"Didn't the ship owner say that just now? The mercenary group is going to wait until the end of the war before going to the port of Astapor. What were we going to do in Astapor at that time? To participate in the looting?"

"Judging from your tone, you are sure that your aunt can't win this war?"

"There is absolutely no possibility of victory. I have been a mercenary in the Eastern Continent for many years. Even the most ferocious mercenary will turn his head and run away when he sees a Dothraki, and the others will only be worse" Joan En paused, "What? You want her to win?"

"I don't know," Aegon shook his head. "If she loses, we will lose our most important ally, and I will lose my only family. But if she wins, by virtue of her victory over Khal Drogo We are kings, what are we? Beggars? Daenerys is just the sister of Prince Rhaegar, and I am Rhaegar's eldest son."

"If only we could get to Slaver's Bay together with the Golden Company before the battle," Aegon went on, "If we could defeat Drogo together, I would be equal to her, and she must Thank you for our kindness."

"The golden group is still in Myr, your hypothesis is impossible, and they have no chance of winning with the golden group." Jon sighed, "We must find another way to go to the slave bay to prevent them from going crazy."

"Wait, Father," Aegon didn't know what he saw, and suddenly patted Jon.Father is Aegon's name for Jon Connington. Over the years, they have been called Griffin and Little Griffin in Essos, and their identities are a pair of father and son. "What do you think is that?"

"A ship?" Following the direction of Aegon's finger, Jon saw a large warship with more than 400 oars on a berth at the end of the port. Tower banner.

"Is that the flag of the Grafson family?" As the former Hand of the King, even though he has been in exile for many years, Jon still knows the family crests of all the great nobles in Westeros like the back of his hand, "The Grafson family signed the flag half a year ago. It has been declared treasonable by Robert, and most of the members have been sacked."

"So this ship may have come from Slaver's Bay, and its owner is Earl Darren Grafson, the only second son of the Grafson family who escaped Robert's clutches, who is serving under Daenerys! "Aegon said excitedly, "We have a ship to Slaver's Bay!"

"Unless we reveal our true identity to the captain, that's a very risky behavior. Let's find a way to find out what they say first."

　The next chapter is expected around 11 o'clock

　　
　
(End of this chapter)