As soon as the meeting broke up, Arya cornered Tyrion, saying, "What do you mean when you say we should save the Zonian troop ships out fishing?" Tyrion looked at her askance and said, "I expected more from you, Arya. If we survive this invasion, we won't survive another. What options does that leave us? Bran and I have spoken at length about this....we will have to take the fight to their shores!" Arya stuttered a bit before spitting out incredulously, "We will invade Zon?" Tyrion gave her a minute to digest the idea of it before saying, "It is the only way we can win; we can't possibly survive wave after wave of these invasions. Saving these ships will only help us craft an invasion fleet big enough to defeat them at home. I wouldn't go spreading this idea around just yet. We still have to win here."
Arya wandered towards home; she was stunned to her core. She swore Thomas to secrecy and then told him what Tyrion had said. He blinked at her for several minutes before he just hugged her, saying, "We will cross that bridge when we come to it, my love."
In Bravvos, the Sealord, and some members of the council were walking near the wharf when a cloaked Zonian vessel appeared. 40 Zonian assassins leaped to shore and attacked them. The First Sword shouted for the guard and threw himself into the defense of the Sealord. Dock hands and traders dropped what they were doing and came to defend their lord. A councilman took a swipe at the arm from one of the Zonian daggers and was convulsed to the ground. The Sealord shouted, "Beware, their daggers are poisoned!"
Several dock hands went down to the Zonian daggers before the guard arrived to press the enemy in their midsts. The Sealord struck down several Zonians defending himself and the remaining council members.n The Zonians began shouting in their own language, which only one person could understand. Jiemba had come to stay with Welbi to study languages at the vast library housed in Bravvos. She was on her way there when she heard the commotion and came running. She yelled out, "The Zonian says you killed their black magician, so they attack you." The guard and the First Swordsman had the enemy under control by then, so the Sealord turned towards Jiemba, saying, "Who are you, young woman, who knows the Zonian language, and how did you come to be here?" Remembering her manners, Jiemba curtseied and stated, "I am Jiemba, an Amanian translator who came to this land on Arya's voyage home. I am staying with my friend Wicket's mother, Welbi, to study the languages of Essos in the library here. I heard Zonian being shouted at you, so I came. The Zonians captured my home country, and I have no love for them." The Zonian ship was searched, and all papers and the few crewmen were taken prisoner. The captive wind users were freed and cared for. The Sealord took Jiemba under tow, and they went to Welbi's mansion. He told her that they had to verify her story, to make sure she wasn't a Zonian spy. She made clear she understood and waited at the door of the mansion for someone to answer. A servant came to the door and ushered them all into the entryway, with all due deference to the Sealord's presence. Welbi came into the room and asked what had happened to Jiemba. The Sealord knew Welbi as a kind but shrewd woman, one whom he could trust. He asked, "Madame, do you know this young woman?" She nodded, adding, "She is my own daughter's dear friend Jiemba, an Amanian from our old lives. Whatever has she done?" The Sealord nodded and stated, "She has helped us to understand a secretive Zonian attack on the government of Bravvos. She translated a language none of us knew." Welbi nodded her understanding and added, "She is an amazing translator and came here to study the languages of Essos; you may trust her translations explicitly. She was late at the court of Bran in King's Landing as his translator."
The Sealord turned and looked at Jiemba with new eyes. He nodded his head at her, saying, "Apologies, young miss, for doubting you. Would it be possible for you to assist us in interrogating our prisoners? You would be handsomely rewarded for your services." Jiemba nodded, and they went next to the prison where the Zonians were being held. In the end, Jiemba translated that the Zonians had been tasked with sneaking their black mage into Bravvos with the help of two mages who could cast invisibility on their ship. They had tried to pick the black mage back up, but he never returned to the rendezvous point. They had existed as long as they could until they ran out of supplies and decided to attack Bravvos' leadership in retaliation. They had waited at an unused dock until the Sealord was spotted and launched their attack. The Sealord thanked Jiemba for her excellent work and handed her a bag of gold. He asked her about the 4 young women they had found bound on the ship. She explained that they were tree-kin wind users who were captives on the boat. She suggested that they be sent into Welbi's care, who also knew some of the tree-kin language.
The Sealord agreed happily.