Chapter 316 Trial of Loyalty
When Lind left, he promised Nymeria to meet Daenerys, which was a warm-up for Nymeria's meeting with Daenerys soon. What's interesting is that they decided to change the meeting place. Set in a base outside the ruins of Valyria, it will be protected by the Miracle Fleet throughout the journey.
To this end, he also took away a handwritten letter written by Nymeria. Although he did not know the specific content of the letter, he thought it was probably a message to communicate feelings.
After Lind left Na Sa, he did not go to Qarth immediately, but flew towards the ruins of Valyria. He planned to let the lava dragons Neltharion and Deltos switch shifts, and Neltharion would Guarding the ruins, Diltos followed him to Asshai.
Although purely in terms of dragon power, Neltharion was definitely considered top-notch even during the Valyrian Free Fortress period, but Deltos is a magical dragon that has mastered powerful magical power. Even Linde has no way of knowing how strong its magical power is, and Steia is a strange place. The power of dragons is not necessarily easy to use. Only the power of magic can control the situation. Therefore, among the three dragons, the third one is the most powerful. Only Altos can give him the greatest help.
I don’t know whether it was because the dragon servant of Na Sa star gave Neltharion some kind of precious metal solution, or because he knew that he could go home and live for a while. In short, Neltharion was very excited and flew at a relatively fast speed. It was much faster than usual, and he had already flown over the ruins of Valyria in just over an hour.
Diltos, who sensed Lind, also flew out of the ruins, met Lind in the air, and then flew out of the ruins together to the Miracle Fleet base outside the ruins.
After several transformations, although Diltos is still smaller than Neltharion, when it spreads its two pairs of wings, the overall appearance is much larger than Neltharion, and as its body Its magic power continues to accumulate and increase, and four different magic sparks appear from time to time on its wings, which looks more mysterious than Neltharion.
While replacing the dragon saddles for Neltharion and Diltos, Lind learned about the construction status of the base and fleet patrol status from the base commander, and also learned about their plans for the base from the mage who researched the base. Research progress on the ruins of Valyria.
Because everything has just begun, everything is still in its initial state, but the number of treasure hunters, adventurers and mercenaries who gathered smelling the smell of treasure was more than expected.
For this reason, the base commander asked whether a small town could be built on a small island next to the base to specifically receive those who want to enter the ruins of Valyria, so as to prevent these people from wandering around the outside of the Sea of Smoke in small boats and causing trouble to the people. The Miracle Fleet's normal patrols create trouble.
Regarding this proposal, Linde thought about it and thought it was feasible, so he directly wrote an order and sent it back to Shengxia Hall using the base's letter eagle, and Shengxia Hall would dispatch materials and manpower to build the town here.
Lind only stayed here for a short time, and then rode Diltos out of the base. At the same time as Lind left, the lava dragon Neltharion also flew back to its lair in the sea of smoke.
The treasure hunters wandering around the sea of smoke naturally saw this scene. They all speculated that the dragon before Linde could not guard the treasure in the ruins, so he replaced it with a more ferocious dragon to guard the treasure.
However, many people feel that there is an opportunity to enter the ruins of Valyria to hunt for treasures, because Deltos has always stayed in the ruins of Valyria in the past, making those treasure hunters feel that they want to be under the surveillance of the dragon. It was difficult, so they kept wandering outside the Sea of Smoke, not daring to get close to the ruins of Valyria.
But now they feel that the opportunity has come, because Neltharion's lair is in the active volcano outside the Sea of Smoke. Many people saw Neltharion flying to the lair, and they all realized that Valyria was at this moment. The ruins were not guarded by dragons, so their opportunity came, so small boats filled with piles of treasure hunters dived into the thick smoke and headed towards the ruins of Valyria.
Some of these people will get lost in the sea of smoke, fail to get out of the poisonous smoke in time, and die of poisoning, or they may be unlucky enough to encounter a sea monster living in the sea of smoke and become its meal. If you are lucky, you can land on the land of the Valyrian ruins and find the way into the ruins.
Most of the people who enter the ruins are targeted by the mutated creatures hidden in the ruins or strange objects originating from the black stone. They are attacked or parasitized and remain in the ruins forever. Only a few of them can find treasures. There were only three or four people who escaped and were lucky enough to get out of the mist again.
It stands to reason that such a large number of casualties would be enough to scare off any treasure hunters and adventurers, but if the lucky ones who escaped from the smoke sea found a large amount of treasures and became rich overnight, plus the ruins and treasures they described, scene, then the situation is different.
As a result, the treasure hunters and adventurers who were still waiting in Volantis, Troos, Slaver's Bay and other places drove the boats that had been prepared and sailed towards the ruins of Valyria. The opportunity to return to the nest to eat and rest was lost forever in the sea of smoke.
In Qarth, a trial about loyalty is going on, and there are two people being judged. One is Jorah Mormont, who is regarded as a confidant by Daenerys, and the other is the person who just recently The fearless Barristan saved Daenerys' life from the unfortunate guest.
"You finally betrayed my brother, Prince Rhaegar, and took refuge with the usurper Robert Baratheon. You have betrayed once. How can you make me believe that you will still be loyal to me now," Daenerys said with a gloomy face. Looking at the fearless Barristan, he pointed to Jorah Mormont, who was kneeling beside him with his head lowered, and said: "Instead of watching me for the usurper like him, waiting for the day when I need to take out the dagger. Stab me in the heart from behind?"
"Khaleesi, please believe me, I never thought of hurting you. From the moment I saw you, I gave up all tasks. I..." Jorah Mormont said extremely humbly. He defended himself.
"That's enough! We'll talk about your affairs later. I'm judging Ser Barristan now." Daenerys glared at Jorah Mormont, interrupted his defense, and turned to look at the white-haired The pale Barristan said: "I want to hear your defense, fearless Barristan!"
"I can't make any excuse, Your Majesty." Barristan said with sadness in his eyes: "If I could have died fighting on the Trident, I might not have the troubles I have now. However, I turned my back. My chivalry has survived to this day, which is why I was humiliated in the Red Castle Hall of King's Landing. I cannot ask for your trust and forgiveness. I only hope to join your army and let me lead it in the subsequent war. Charge and die on the battlefield like a true knight, this is the greatest mercy you can show an old man like me."
Daenerys stared at Barristan, as if she was considering whether to believe the words of the old man in front of her. After a while, she turned to Princess Arianne Martell of Dorne aside and asked: " Arianne, do you think I should believe him?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, this matter can only be judged by yourself. I can't give you any advice." After many years of experience in Sunspear, Arianne has lost the arrogance and arrogance of her youth, and she has become more restrained. A lot, the only difference is that her eyes are still full of ambition.
Through her status as the Princess of Dorne and her extraordinary political skills, Arianne quickly gained Daenerys's trust and took a place among Daenerys's closest ministers, but she also knew that she was the most important person at the moment. What you should do is not to put forward your opinions randomly, but to quietly observe and understand the division of power around Daenerys, and look for opportunities to gain more rights.
Seeing that Arianne gave no opinion, she turned to look at Prince Quentin at the foot of the steps and said, "Prince Quentin, what about you? Can you tell me whether Barristan is still worthy of my trust?"
Prince Quentin arrived in Qarth almost at the same time as Princess Arianne. However, compared to Princess Arianne, she quickly gained Daenerys's trust and began to assist Daenerys in handling the government affairs of Qarth. Prince Quentin is more like a guest. The difference in their relationship can be seen from the different names Daenerys calls the two.
This is not because Prince Quentin is not capable enough. In fact, under the careful training of Prince Dolan, Prince Quentin is outstanding in both combat and political abilities. When it comes to governing Sunspear, he is able to do the same thing as Yalian. Princess En fights in a separate court, which shows how outstanding his ability is.
However, even when he showed his talents and abilities in front of Daenerys, Prince Quentin was never able to gain Daenerys's trust. This was entirely because he made a big mistake from the beginning. He ignored the reality. The situation was completely in accordance with Prince Doran's instructions. He proposed to Daenerys the first time he met her, and he proposed to Daenerys on the condition of Dorne's support, which gave people a sense of Feeling of threat.
You must know that not long ago, the Thirteen Giants of Qarth teamed up with the wizards of the Palace of the Immortal and used marriage as a condition to trick her into the Palace of the Immortal. They tried to snatch her three dragons, but they were burned to death by dragon flames. ash.
Now Prince Quentin proposes to her again, using marriage as a condition to gain the support of Dorne. This immediately reminds Daenerys of what happened before, and naturally she will not show any favor to Prince Quentin.
Her idea was to drive Prince Quentin away, but Prince Quentin was Dorne's messenger after all, and had certain talents that could help her make plans. Plus, he also had Arianne's relationship, so she still Prince Quentin is allowed to stay in Qarth, and is also allowed to participate in some less important matters, such as the current trial against Jorah Mormont and Barristan Selmy.
Unlike Arianne, Prince Quentin wants to express himself in front of Daenerys, so he has wanted to express his opinions from just now, but he has never had the chance. Now Daenerys takes the initiative to ask him, Allow him to express his views.
"I have heard the name of the fearless Barristan since I was very young. Whether it was my father, Prince Doran, or my uncle, Prince Oberyn, they all admired Lord Barristan greatly and considered him to be the most powerful of all knights at that time. Someone who can bear the title of knight." Prince Quentin stood up, puffed out his chest, and looked extremely confident, and said, "My father also mentioned that Lord Barristan surrendered to Robert Barra. Regarding Theon, he believed that Ser Barristan was impeccable in this matter, because Ser Barristan only surrendered after King Aerys had died and King's Landing had been captured. He did not break his promise. . So, I think Lord Barristan is a true knight, a knight who keeps his word and is loyal to his lord.”
"It seems that you really admire Ser Barristan." Daenerys looked at Prince Quentin with a solemn face and said.
"Yes, I do admire Ser Barristan very much and want to become a knight like Ser Barristan. I think most of the knights in the entire Seven Kingdoms want to become the next fearless Barristan." Prince Quentin nodded and admitted, "Even when the Chosen Prince Lynd trained Lord Brienne of Tarth, the model knight, he asked her to follow Lord Barristan as an example."
"Breneny of Tarth? I've heard of her name before. It's said that she was trained by Lord Lynd." Daenerys sat up straight, looked at Barristan, and said, "I remember Barrister." Sir Lestan, you have fought against her in a tourney. What do you think of her?"
Barristan was stunned for a moment, nodded and said, "She is worthy of the name of a model."
"It is said that she is now loyal to Renly Baratheon. If she is a paragon of knights, shouldn't she be loyal to the Iron Throne?" Daenerys said solemnly.
Prince Quentin explained: “Lord Brienne’s lord is Renly Baratheon, and there is nothing wrong with her being loyal to Renly Baratheon, just like Lord Lynd also admitted that King Joffrey I was loyal to Iron King. The right to inherit the throne is the same.”
"The rules of knights in your seven kingdoms are really messy. Anyone can be loyal to anyone." Daenerys's bloodrider Jiaogo said with disdain.
Daenerys frowned but said nothing. She looked at Barristan and said, "Since your character can be recognized by Lord Linde, I am also willing to believe in your loyalty." As she said that, she stood up from the stone. He stood up from the chair, walked to the bottom of the steps, came to Barristan, waved to Missandei, the maid who had just been promoted, took a white cloak, put it on Barristan, and said : "Ser Barristan Samir, you will stand behind me as my Kingsguard, blocking the incoming swords for me. I hope you can be worthy of my trust."
"My heart will be as strong as my sword, and I will die with honor!" Barristan lowered his head to Daenerys and swore sincerely.
