"Where is your Queen?"
Eddard Karstark's voice was muffled behind his thick linen mask, but the command in it was unmistakable. Even though he had seen the massive black shadow ascending from the fighting pit through his telescope, he needed the confirmation from those on the ground. From the harbor, the figure riding the dragon was nothing more than a speck against the bruising clouds of the Meereenese sky.
Jorah Mormont, his face a mask of sweating, sun-beaten anxiety, adjusted his sword belt. "At Daznak's Pit. To celebrate the marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq and the peace with Yunkai, she was presiding over the games with her husband and the Yunkish delegates."
"We should skip the pleasantries and get there," Barristan Selmy said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He watched the direction of the black dragon's flight with a hollow feeling in his chest. "I saw the smoke from the harbor. Something has gone terribly wrong."
Admiral Groleo, an admiral without a single ship to his name, looked ready to faint. "Please, let the gods have mercy," he whispered.
The marriage had been a fragile bridge of glass. To secure the peace, Meereen and Yunkai had exchanged seven high-born hostages. Groleo's name had originally been on that list, but at the last moment, Daenerys had insisted he stay behind to facilitate the arrival of the "Winter Wizard." He had been replaced by Skahaz mo Kandaq, the Shavepue and leader of the Brazen Beasts. If the Pit had turned into a slaughterhouse, the hostages outside the walls were likely already being flayed.
The group moved through the streets of Meereen, flanked by a squad of Unsullied who maintained a rigid, silent perimeter. The city was eerie; the streets were mostly empty of the "Free Folk" who had flocked to the arena. The poor were hidden in their hovels, terrified of the "Pale Mare", the bloody flux that was turning the city's gutters into a river of waste and fever.
As they neared the Great Pit, the sky turned a violent, smoky crimson. Thick, oily plumes rose like the claws of a titan, choking the air with the scent of burnt silk and roasted meat.
Groups of panicked citizens began to surge toward them, their eyes wide with a primal terror. Some, blinded by hysteria, attempted to charge through the line of soldiers.
The Unsullied didn't flinch. They lowered their spears and raised their leather shields in a single, fluid motion - a wall of bronze and discipline. Eddard's Karstark guards drew their longswords and battle-axes, their eyes cold behind their visors. A look that said, Whoever dares, dies.
The mob broke against the sight of the iron-clad Northmen, scattering into the side alleys like a flock of frightened birds.
Rounding the final corner, the full horror of the dragon's visit was revealed. The entire thoroughfare was a landscape of fire. Houses, shops, and ornate palanquins were reduced to blackened husks. Charred bodies lay scattered across the flagstones, the air thick with the cloying, sweet smell of burnt human flesh. Those who hadn't died instantly were letting out high, rhythmic wails, sinners in an earthly hell.
Eddard noticed the "Brazen Beasts", the city guard in their animal masks moving among the wreckage. They were putting out fires and administering the "mercy" of a dagger to the hopelessly burned.
A squad of Unsullied emerged from the arena gates, escorting a stretcher. On it lay a bald, burly giant of a man - Strong Belwas. His scar-crossed belly was distended, covered in a sickening mixture of blood and yellowish-green bile. Following behind were two Dothraki handmaidens and a small, dark-skinned girl with golden eyes.
"Grey Worm!" Barristan shouted. "What happened? Where is the Queen?"
"The black dragon fell after the games began," Grey Worm replied, his hairless face tight with a rare flick of panic. "He burned the boars. He burned the pit-fighters. The King said the beast was eating people and ordered the guards to kill it."
"You lost her?" Jorah Mormont's roar was a physical force. "I was away for half a day! Only half a day!"
"Missandei tried to stop her," Grey Worm said, nodding toward the small girl.
Missandei's golden eyes were swimming with tears. "I grabbed her arm. I pulled with everything I had. But the Mother broke free. She jumped into the pit... she ran for the dragon... and she flew away in the smoke."
Barristan Selmy went silent, his face turning the color of ash.
Eddard Karstark ignored the royal drama. He walked to the stretcher, looking down at the retching Belwas. "And this one? Why is a pit-fighter leaking bile in the middle of a dragon-raid?"
The Meereenese guards looked at Eddard with suspicion. Groleo quickly stepped in. "This is Lord Eddard Karstark, Marquis of the Crossing and Regent of the Trident. He has come for an alliance."
"Missandei, answer him," Barristan commanded.
"This is Strong Belwas," Missandei whispered. "He is the Queen's protector. He suddenly became ill during the chaos."
"Did he eat or drink anything before he started vomiting?" Eddard asked, his voice clinical.
"He ate the honeyed locusts," Missandei said. "The King had them prepared. He... he was very insistent that the Queen try them. He said they were sweet and spicy."
A peculiar, sharp smile touched Eddard's lips behind his mask. He looked at Barristan. "Ser Barristan, you've served four kings. You must be accustomed to the smell of a courtly rat. Eating from the King's private dish and ending up like this? Belwas is just a greedy scapegoat who saved your Queen's life by accident."
Barristan frowned, the implication sinking in. "We need proof, My Lord."
"The proof is in the King's kitchen," Eddard said, shrugging. "But you'd better hurry. If the King is as smart as he is murderous, that chef is already being fitted for a shroud."
Eddard turned to his guards. "I've seen enough. My trip here wasn't easy, and I didn't sail five thousand miles to watch a child-king play with poison. If you need a real army to help you clean this mess, you know where the harbor is."
He began to walk away, his mind already calculating the risks of staying in a city that was about to erupt into a civil war. He wasn't Dany's ally yet; he was just another target in a room full of vipers.
"Lord Eddard, wait," Barristan called out. The old knight looked at the chaos around them, then at the Karstark veterans. He knew he couldn't hold Meereen alone with the Queen gone and the King under suspicion. "I invite you to stay in the Great Pyramid. Your personal guards as well. When the Queen returns - and she will return, we can discuss the alliance from a position of strength. What do you say?"
Eddard paused, his grey eyes sweeping over the group. Jorah Mormont looked as if he wanted to spit at Eddard's feet, but the Great Bear was silent. Missandei looked hopeful. Grey Worm looked like stone.
"Alright," Eddard said with a nod. "I'll stay."
He remembered the reports: Viserion and Rhaegal were chained deep in the pyramid's bowels. He felt a thrill of curiosity. He possessed the [Animal Friend] skill, and the magic tide was rising.
Who wouldn't want to be a Dragon Knight? Eddard thought, his smile hidden behind the linen. Let's see if the 'Wizard' can tame what the 'Mother' left behind.
Plz Drop Some Power Stones.
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