Chapter 315: Leverage
Although he had lived on Dragonstone, an island surrounded by the sea, the coldness and humidity of the sea fog still made Norton feel uncomfortable while paddling.
Dragonstone is a volcanic island. The closer you get to the volcano, the drier it becomes. In fact, there is no moisture in the core of the island.
"We seldom get fog on Dragonstone." While paddling, Norton said to the woman sitting in the boat.
The woman was wearing an inconspicuous gray cloak and was sitting at the stern of the boat. She had a thin figure and looked like a fisherwoman at first glance. However, if her appearance could be seen clearly, this impression would disappear.
The facial features on her heart-shaped face are exquisite, and she wears an expensive ruby necklace on her fair neck. She has an elegant temperament and a solemn expression, but her skin is strangely pale and she is really too thin.
She was obviously not interested in things like fog on Dragonstone. After hearing this, she did not comment, but asked about the Lord of Dragonstone.
"The Duke hasn't been back for a while, and we rarely see him." Norton replied with an expression of admiration.
"You love him very much?"
The woman's voice was hoarse and dry, which looked strange.
Norton felt that the voice did not match her appearance at all and was particularly unpleasant. However, because the other party paid enough money, he still answered the woman's questions enthusiastically.
"Of course, the Duke is a hero sent by the gods in the sky to save us, so we naturally love him very much." The young fisherman couldn't hide his admiration in his words.
"You know, madam, not long after our Lord Duke came here, he tidied up the Crab Claw Peninsula. You don't know how arrogant the Crab Claw Peninsula was before..."
The Crab Claw Peninsula does not belong to Renly's command. In fact, it has little to do with the people of Dragonstone. However, Norton's biological sister married to Crab Island, which manages the Crab Claw Peninsula, and they share the same hatred.
"How is he different from before after taking office?" the woman asked again.
Norton felt that this man seemed to be very curious about his lord, but this was not surprising. Who in Westeros today was not curious about their mysterious lord?
"It's no different. The island has always been under the control of Mr. Andrew sent by the king. In fact, this Mr. Andrew is a distant relative of our Duke. He is fair in taxation and trial, and he is also a decent man."
"Have you ever met Lord Renly with your own eyes?"
"How could I not have seen it before? My father died of illness at that time, and I paid the taxes in person. The Duke was very kind..."
…
The time passed in this question and answer process. As a young fisherman, Norton didn't have the patience to answer questions all the time, but he didn't know whether it was because this person was too beautiful or because he was particularly interested in talking today. In short, he never shut up along the way.
During this process, he never discovered that there was anyone else, or other living beings, on the boat besides himself and the lady named Melisandre. However, just because Norton didn't find it didn't mean that there really wasn't one. On the woman's shoulders, There was always a black crow with three eyes.
Not only was Norton unaware of the crow's existence, but the person whose shoulder was stepped on didn't seem to notice either. He focused all his attention on the question and remained indifferent to the shoulder.
The strange thing is that the crow seems to be like a decoration. It rests on the shoulder and moves with the slight movements of the woman, but it never moves at all, and it never even turns its head.
It wandered along with Melisandre, and finally took a small boat from the north shore of Dragonstone to the west shore.
Dragonstone is not a big island, but it is not too small either. The west coast is much livelier than the deserted north coast. Looking around, the port is noisy and noisy, with some war or transportation ships moored. Behind the port, On the low peak sits a magnificent fortress that is different from other castles in Westeros.
And diagonally above the castle, there is a huge volcano with smoke at the peak that is faintly connected to the clouds.
"Look, that's called Dragon Mountain. It was the place where Targaryens raised dragons in the early years."
Norton said proudly: "You know, all of us on Dragonstone Island actually have the blood of the Long family."
Many people know this, and Melisandre has heard it too.
The Targaryen family has ruled this island for hundreds of years. Because of their dragon-taming methods and peculiar appearance, the people on Dragonstone have always treated them as gods. At the same time, although the island does not practice the laws of Westeros, The right of first night has been popular for a long time, but women are vying to sleep with the Targaryen "god" and are proud of it.
In this case, the number of illegitimate children born is naturally very large, and it can even be said that they are blooming everywhere. As time goes by, they intermarry with each other, and they come and go. It is estimated that just dragging out a person on Dragonstone Island can be called a bastard. The bloodline of the Dragon King.
However, Melisandre did not come here to explore the ancestry of the fishermen on Dragonstone Island. Besides, she believed that she had hollowed out this simple-minded fisherman along the way. After hearing this, she did not say anything else and just nodded. .
After landing at the port and paying the remaining money, she hurried away without any pause. The young fisherman who had been secretly expecting something was disappointed, but then he was secretly proud of making a big fortune today——
That woman is good-looking, but it might as well be that he charges twice as much.
…
Melisandre didn't know that she had been hacked, or even if she knew, she wouldn't care much about it. After landing on the island, she rushed towards the castle.
The Duke of Dragonstone was not in the territory, but she decided to stay here and wait until he came back.
At the same time, the situation in the north must be spread through the ravens here - she has been traveling by land and sea all the way, and the only place she has come into contact with is the Great Wall in the north, but it is very strange and she can't even enter it, so she can only take a detour to avoid it.
In addition, because of the disciple incident, R'hllor's faith is not popular in Westeros. She thought that no one would pay attention to what she said, so she didn't dare to say too much to others.
Dragonstone is different. Isn't it just the speculation in my heart? Even if the current Duke Renly's status and reputation are enough to convince too many people.
But that person is not here now, Melisandre can only do this alone, of course, the premise is that she can enter the castle and be treated as a guest of honor.
This is actually not difficult, or rather, it is not difficult for her now - the eyes on the forehead are weird and dangerous, but they have the power to confuse people.
With this, she successfully entered the castle and successfully bewitched a maester named Kans in the castle, making him write letters.
One, ten, thirty...
A large number of letters were constantly written and eventually carried to all directions by the ravens in the castle. The scene of "flowers scattered by the sky" was bound to cause greater changes in Westeros.
All this was seen by the three-eyed crow on her shoulder, but it did not stop it. It just flapped its wings and left after witnessing it, and finally quietly slipped into the bedroom of Lord Renly.
