Game of Thrones Overlord Conquest.

Chapter 35 The Widow by the Water
In Volantis, in the middle of summer, the climate is hot and humid.

At this time, three noblemen dressed in black hooded silk robes, with their faces covered tightly, walked quickly on the fishmonger's square on the west bank of the Lorne River.

Their attire can't help but attract attention, but there are obviously reasons why they have to.

The air in the square is filled with a strong smell of fish, flowers, excrement, and decay.

But here stood Volantis' finest tavern and greatest inn, the Merchant's House.

It is a huge four-story building overlooking the surrounding warehouses and taverns. Many transactions are negotiated in the merchant's house, which is the first choice for shippers, captains, and merchants all over the world.

There was a partition table in front of the hotel, and four men dressed as mercenary soldiers were calling every passing man or boy to join their ranks.

The three nobles ignored the enthusiasm of these mercenaries, walked back and forth into the courtyard of the merchant's house, and continued along the spacious sandstone road in the courtyard.

Purple-green moss grows between the gaps in the stone slabs, and it looks like a maze with the flower racks with intricate patterns, grape trellises and pavilions surrounded by vines.

The door locks of the merchant's house are known for being strong, and it is said that their security is comparable to that of a prison.

The three nobles pushed the door open and walked into the hall, and dozens of noises mixed in different languages ​​came rushing towards them.

The space in the hall is spacious yet crowded and cramped, and the overall appearance is much larger than most halls of castles and towns.

But it's dimly lit, with intimate niches and hidden alcoves dotted around the walls.

Sailors, merchants, captains, money changers, shippers, and slavers from all over the world gathered under blackened beams and cracked ceilings to lie and deceive one another.

The three nobles did not continue to stand at the door, which would attract the attention of others, so after a short look, they went straight to the corner of the hall.

After getting closer, I found that there was an old woman sitting behind the table. Due to the shadow, others could hardly see her, but sitting here, she could see the movement of the hotel door at a glance.

The old woman's weather-beaten face was covered with deep wrinkles, and a more conspicuous scar crawled across her cheeks, covering up the slave marks dug out when she was free. The white hair was sparse, and the pink scalp made people see It was clear that the passage of time had already bent her spine.

But despite this, her eyes are black and bright, full of thinking about the wisdom of the years, and her stooped body is sitting alertly, as if she is indomitable to fate.

The three nobles wanted to get close to the old woman, but they were stopped by many guards around her.

The leading nobleman slowly took off part of his hood, revealing half a toothless smiling face.

"Children, take the old man upstairs."

In the shadow of flickering candlelight, in the slightly sunken eye sockets of the old woman, a pair of deep eyes revealed a touch of sadness.

She didn't ask anyone to help her, she was weak, her skin was wrinkled like bark, she propped herself up on the table, slowly stood up, and walked slowly upstairs to the hotel under the protection of the guards.

All the people in the hall would politely make way for her, and friends who were familiar with the status would respectfully call her "the widow by the water", and her guards were honored as the widow's sons.

Although everyone called her "Vagaro's whore" in private, no one ever dared to call her that in person, or with the widow's sons.

Vagaro is the name of a person who was elected consul of Volantis seven times, and at the same time was a merchant of old aristocratic origin.

He owned docks, warehouses, and operated various businesses such as cargo transit, currency exchange, ship insurance, and slave trade.

Once a bed slave, The Widow of the Water's Edge trained in Yunkai, learning the seven art of moaning and sixteen positions of love, trained in dance, and eventually became an expert in the erotic arts.

It was at this time that a Volantene consul named Vagaro bought her.

Afterwards, Vagaro fell in love with the "Widow by the Water", liberated her, gave her freedom, and eventually married her.

This caused a sensation among the noble circles of Volantene, and was regarded as the greatest scandal of all.

After Vagaro died, he left all the business to his wife, but as a free person, the "Widow by the Water" could no longer live inside the black wall.

She took over her husband's business, sold the mansion, and moved to a merchant's house on the west bank of the Lorne to expand her business.

The business grew bigger and bigger, and now even owns a dock and a waterway.

The guards surrounded the three nobles and brought them into the luxurious suite on the second floor of the merchant's house.

This long-term reserved suite is the permanent residence of the "Widow by the Water", and the table in the hall downstairs is her routine table.

The house has two windows, one facing the long bridge and the black wall across the river, which is the old time in her memories, and the other facing the fishmongers square, standing in front of the window, you can see everything downstairs.

"Megea."

The "widow by the water" leaned slowly on the chair in the corner, a smile gradually appeared on her weather-beaten face, and a pair of sad eyes revealed the calmness and peace of meeting an old friend.

Accompanied by her vicissitudes of life, the three nobles slowly took off their hoods.

The leading old man smiled very vividly, and his bright eyes were like the eyes of a tiger, piercing with energy.

This man was none other than Malachor Megea, the current Tiger consul of Volantis, who, though old and toothless, still lived up to the name of the Tiger.

"You, me, and your husband Vagaro, we have known each other for nearly 30 years, just call me Maracho."

The consul was very athletic, he picked a chair at random and sat down, his voice was also sonorous and powerful.

"Marachor, the west bank of the Lorne River is not a place where noble consuls will come. Of course, in return for your kindness in protecting my husband's business and property, I have promised that I am willing to help you accomplish anything in return."

Hearing the "widow by the water"'s direct statement, the consul unscrupulously sent out a stare of choice, and then said:

"I need your help to contact a reputable mercenary group."

For hundreds of years, the Free Cities have hired a large number of mercenaries to go to war, so Essos has many long-established mercenary regiments, and they only serve the highest paying employers.

Inevitably, most of them are extrajudicial lunatics who are only proficient in robbing houses, rabble, but there are also some self-disciplined and reputable mercenary groups.

The "Widow by the Water" ignored the sudden fierce gaze of the consul, smiled lightly, and said without thinking:

"You want me to help hire the Golden Company."

Mercenaries have always had a notorious reputation for being capricious, but the most honorable thing about the Golden Company is that they never break their contracts, and their motto is "Speak as you speak."

Moreover, the Golden Regiment is regarded as the most powerful of the major mercenary regiments in Essos.

Hearing the name of the Golden Group, Malacho waved his fist, but his words were still extremely strong:

"Not only the Golden Squad, I also need to hire other reputable mercenary groups in the Disputed Lands and Stone Step Islands."

The Disputed Lands is an area southwest of Essos, and the Stepstones are located in the narrow sea to the west of the Disputed Lands.

Among them, the disputed land has a vast area and fertile land, and it was once extremely prosperous. The Stone Step Islands are the throat of the sea trade between the east and west continents.

The three Free Cities, Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh, have been fighting for the sovereignty of these two regions, so most of the mercenary groups of Essos are employed to fight here.

Seeing that the old friend frowned after hearing this sentence, the consul quickly continued to add:

"However, please rest assured that this will not affect your business. I don't have the crazy idea of ​​being a lifetime consul."

The old woman sighed helplessly, but her frowning brows did not relax, and she asked unhurriedly:
"Within the black wall, do the other two Elephant Party consuls know about this?"

"They have agreed to authorize the mercenary group." Malaccio said righteously with a resolute expression, "The Dothraki are heading south and approaching Volantis. War is imminent."

But the "Widow by the Water" remained unmoved, just staring at the face of the Tiger Party's governor.

She knew far more information than her old friend imagined.

(End of this chapter)