But it was a treasure for sure.
He quickly surveyed the other boxes, other parts of the ship, and then swam back up into the bell to breathe again. He repeated that whole process a few times, surveying not just the shop but everything around it, ensuring he wasn't leaving anything behind.
There were, sadly, a few wooden crates that had become too weak. They had broken apart, and their contents, silver ingots, spilled around. Of course, it was also covered in dirt and whatnot. He chose not to gather them for now and returned to the bell.
Finally, he grabbed one of the other loose ropes that had come down with the bell. He tied it to one of the metal chests and then gave a few tugs in a fixed pattern. Moments later, the rope started getting pulled up. After a while, another rope appeared near him, connected to a heavy rock.
He released the rock and tied another chest. Soon, multiple ropes landed around him, each connected to a heavy rock. One by one, with many trips to the bell and then wreckage, he sent everything up.
Finally, he gathered the scattered silver ingots into a fishing net and sent them all up. For one last time, he returned inside the wreckage and searched. He knocked on some parts to find any hidden compartments.
The reason was simple. The treasure locations he had in his mind were like real-time updating maps. For example, the location of dragon eggs marked as treasure in Maidenpool had vanished from his mind.
And now, even after sending up all he saw, the marker for treasure was still there. For the treasure ship sunk and also forgotten, Valyrian steel and dragon eggs.
What will it be? Eggs or steel?
If the treasure ship once belonged to House Velaryon, then the possibility was high for both of them.
Tap! Tap!
He knocked on every wall and every surface he could find. He mostly focused on what was once the captain's cabin, however.
Oh?
Eventually, close to giving up, he ended up randomly knocking on the underside of a table in the captain's cabin. On second look, the table was strange. It had an unnaturally thick top. So, when he kept tapping the underside, he eventually felt something hollow.
The wood was old and rotting. He punched at it a few times and tore away the entire wooden covering and accessed the small, flat, hidden compartment, and from it fell a…
Crown?
It was a circlet, Valyrian steel for sure. What stood out was the set of big, square-cut rubies all around it. That stood out a lot. It was far too recognizable for Wylis.
It's the fucking… Conqueror's crown. Wait, is this a Dornish ship?
As someone who already had the crown of the Kings of Winter, Garth the Gardner's crown, and the crown of the King of the Rock, this was a fine addition to the collection. But unlike those others, this one had a lot more significance because another Aegon lived in his castle.
With the crown in his hand, the treasure marker finally vanished from his mind. He knew nothing else was there. So as he swam back into the bell, he thought about it. He absolutely adored and cherished Rhaella, but he wasn't sure if telling her about the crown was the right decision. He didn't want her to grow any ill-ambitions, even subconsciously.
He looked at the crown. It was something that could raise aspirations. Something that could make someone delusional enough to believe it was God's will. He personally had no great desire for the throne, but not everyone was like him.
More sense to keep it hidden for now. Let's see how Robert holds the realm and if…
Cersei was already with a child, likely a bastard from incest. That meant Robert's line wasn't secure yet, and he knew Cersei would never allow that to happen. She was just as vile and deranged as she was beautiful.
Hope for the best.
Finally, he signaled the men above to start pulling the bell. He was too tired to do any more of the heavy work. He just held onto the insides of the bell and floated up and up until he surfaced. He grabbed the rope ladder and climbed onto the deck while the men worked on pulling the bell.
"Gods be damned! You mad fucking man! Look what you've found!"
Wylis caught his breath first, adjusting to the change in atmospheric pressure. He'd made sure to rise very slowly with the diving bell. But still, he felt uneasy.
"Where is it?"
"Follow me."
He followed Brandon to the ship's cargo. A few men with spears were guarding the place, and for a very good reason. The metal chests lay all open, and a single man was counting everything.
Wylis saw gold ingots in one of the chests. The fact that the gold still looked golden and shiny meant it was pure. The other chests were either similar or had slightly corroded gold, likely not very pure. There was also a lot of jewelry, trinkets, chains, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and whatnot. Gold, silver, rubies, and some diamonds as well.
But Wylis already expected all that. This was a treasure ship, after all. What he really longed to see was some Valyrian steel.
"You greedy cunt, I know what you're looking for. Come, I put it all in the cabin."
Once again, Wylis followed Brandon and arrived in his decently sized cabin. It had a single cuboid chest sitting on the floor. It was longer than broad. Fully expecting a sword, he opened it.
Ah! Now this is a treasure!
Ting!
It seemed even Tyrant's Squire acknowledged it.
[Hidden Quest Completed - Scavenger Of The Sea
Description - Where there's a will, there's a way. A Tyrant always finds the way, land or sea.
Goal - Find and salvage treasure sunken in the sea.
Reward - The Weatherman Skill: Be a better judge of the weather a day in advance.]
Sweet sweet reward!
Wylis felt all his fatigue instantly go away and looked back inside the chest. It was a great haul. First was a gorgeous Valyrian steel bastard sword, its hilt still held golden color, same for the fancy reinsguard. Looking at it, he failed to see it as anything but a ceremonial sword, as the reinsguard looked too fragile and intricately detailed. The blade, however, had a light green hue and patterns.
Then there were three smaller daggers. There were chain links made of Valyrian steel, then some finger rings, and ingots. It was a massive discovery.
"Did you clean them?" Wylis asked.
"Had to do it. This treasure's worth more than all the rest we dragged out put together."
Wylis nodded, and knowing about gold in the river, he reckoned the value of this sword was even greater. Not that he planned to give away this exact sword. No, he planned to use the scraps to forge a new one. This pre-made one clearly held some history and was more valuable as it is.
"I agree. With all this, I can spend well on my main sword and still have enough besides." He picked up the bastard sword, checking its patterns. "Have the men set the sails for Ramsgate. The treasure hunt is done for now. If we want the rest of it, I'll need to make something finer than that bell."
Wylis knew the locations of all sunken treasure ships. While most of them were near some coasts, some were also in the middle of the seas, likely deeper than a thousand feet. He had no plans of diving that far, no matter how confident he was.
"Come, I'm thirsty and hungry. We'll sort the salvaged treasure after we've eaten. Might soon buy a few more ships for your grand fleet."
"Now we're talking!" Brandon roared with a wild grin, snatching the smallest ring from the chest and holding it up like a prize. "Let me keep this one, eh? Ice is back home, but this wee bastard'll serve well enough."
"Go ahead," Wylis said, shutting the chest and lifting it for his own cabin. "Call it my wedding gift. What say you if I melt it down and have two plain rings made to match?"
Noticing the silence, he turned to look at Brandon. He'd never seen that man look so happy, like a puppy, just staring at the ring.
"I'd like that, Wylis."
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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
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