The wind rustled through the lush canopy of Cedar Island, carrying the scent of damp earth and tropical blooms. A massive wild boar rooted through the bushes with her piglets, her small, obsidian eyes constantly darting to the shadows. She was a creature of instinct, guarding against the predators of the deep forest.
Swish.
A silver line cut through the humid air. The steel-tipped arrow punched through the boar's thick hide and sank deep into her heart. The beast collapsed with a wet, gurgling squeal. A second volley followed instantly, ensuring none of the piglets escaped to spread the alarm.
"Drag them back to the cook-fires," Karas Snow commanded, slinging a goldenheart wood longbow, plundered from a Ghiscari captain over his shoulder. He watched as his men hoisted the prey, their movements brisk and disciplined.
The Karstark fleet had been anchored at Cedar Island for a month. Since the Doom, the island had remained uninhabited by men, allowing its natural resources to reach an astonishing abundance. For Eddard's fleet, it was a paradise for resupply, provided they could navigate the locals.
"Maester Bennett is going to have a fit," Karas muttered with a grin.
Every time a ship returned to the rendezvous, Bennett was there, his potbelly bouncing as he ran along the sands to enforce the King's hygiene protocols. He personally inspected the masks and ensured every cook had a furnace dedicated solely to boiling water. The scholar had complained that his calves were becoming thicker than a boar's waist from the constant running.
Eddard, meanwhile, had been busy with his own brand of "labor management."
"Chirp! Squeak! Roar!"
The air was thick with the cries of hundreds of monkeys. They stood in uneven rows, reluctantly dropping scavenged fruit into large wicker baskets. Their simple minds were baffled by the King's commands, but they had learned to obey. When the fleet first arrived, the monkeys had greeted them with a hail of stones and filth. Eddard had put an end to the "insurrection" by using [Animal Friend] on the troop's alpha and bestowing a [Mana Armor] upon him. The magically-shielded alpha had proceeded to thrash any dissenter into submission.
In exchange for their labor, Eddard's veterans hunted down the leopards, tigers, and raptors that preyed on the monkeys. By the time the month was up, Eddard was the unofficial "Monkey King" of Cedar Island, his primate workforce numbering over a thousand.
"Your Majesty, 167 ships have rendezvoused," Admiral Jason Mallister reported, leaning on his cane. The warm weather and Bennett's care had worked wonders on his fractured shin. "Eighteen are lost to the sea - the Trout, the Spear, the Red Horse... we wait no longer."
"Agreed," Eddard said, flicking the head of the alpha monkey playfully before letting it bound back into the trees. "Leave ten ships to watch for stragglers. The rest weigh anchor. We sail for Meereen at dawn."
The Great Pyramid of Meereen shimmered like a mountain of bronze in the distance as the Karstark fleet approached the harbor.
On the docks, two men stood watching the horizon. One was a vision of old Westeros: silver plate armor gilded with gold, a snow-white cloak billowing in the breeze, and eyes as sharp as a hawk's. Barristan Selmy, the Bold, stood with his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Ser Jorah," Barristan asked, "you are a Northman. Do you know this Eddard Karstark?"
Jorah Mormont, clad in new chainmail and a green surcoat featuring the standing bear of his house, shook his head gloomily. "No. When I fled the North, he was a child. I have no memory of him."
"He is young, then?" Barristan mused. "Around twenty, by the reports. Youth and accomplishment are a dangerous mix. Had he not married Sansa Stark, he might have been a suitable match for our Queen."
Barristan glanced at Jorah, his expression neutral. He knew the "Great Bear" harbored an unrequited love for Daenerys, a sentiment Barristan found absurd for an exiled slaver and former spy. He had held his tongue for the Queen's sake, but his patience was thin.
"Could you have defeated three hundred slave-ships with less than two hundred?" Barristan teased. "The reports say Karstark only lost a dozen ships while capturing thirty Ghiscari galleys. He didn't just survive the blockade; he ate it."
"The slave masters were disorganized," Jorah spat. "Yunkai charged, New Ghis hid, and Qarth watched. Give Groleo a hundred ships and he'd have done the same."
"I couldn't," Groleo interjected, walking up in his feathered seaman's cap. "I can't beat them because the Queen hasn't given me a single ship to command. This Karstark... he brings fifteen thousand veterans. If he is an ally, our troubles in this swamp are over."
The Sunbeam glided into the dock, accompanied by its sister ships. As the gangplank hit the stone, squad after squad of "Winter Guards" marched down, their black-and-gold cloaks fluttering, their golden sunburst emblems gleaming.
Eddard stepped down the ramp, looking like a silver statue in his full plate. He wore a heavy mask of linen and cotton over his face, a jarring sight that made the Meereenese delegation murmur.
"Your Majesty, the man in the silver plate is Barristan the Bold," Mallister whispered behind Eddard. "The one in the green is Mormont."
Eddard nodded. To the North, Jorah Mormont was still a criminal. The North Remembers, and it rarely forgives.
As Barristan and Jorah stepped forward to offer their greetings, the earth suddenly seemed to tremble. A series of deafening, primordial roars erupted from the direction of Daznak's Pit in the heart of the city.
The sky was suddenly cut by a massive black shadow. Wings as wide as the docks themselves blotted out the sun. A slender, draconic neck curved like a bow as the beast let out a roar that sounded like a mountain cracking in half.
Eddard's heart sank beneath his silver breastplate. He watched as the black dragon ascended, a tiny figure visible upon its back.
"Drogon," Eddard whispered through his mask.
He had raced across the Narrow Sea, survived the Valyrian storms, and broken a blockade, only to arrive at the exact moment the Dragon Queen took flight into the wilderness.
[System Notification: Narrative Event: The Flight from the Pit.]
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