The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Clack, clack, clack!

The city gate slowly opened.

It was a very tall city gate, requiring a mechanical winch to move.

When the opening was just wide enough for a carriage to pass through, the winch stopped, and a carriage slowly emerged, followed by a second, and a third…

A total of twenty carriages lined up in a single file, exiting the city gate at a steady pace. Each carriage carried a blacksmith in addition to the driver.

The carriages were loaded with iron ore, a full twenty carriages' worth.

As soon as the last of the twenty carriages had cleared the gate, a command was heard from inside the city. The clack, clack, clack of the winch resumed, and the city gate slowly began to close.

Standing at the city gate, looking up, a row of archers stood on the city wall. Next to each unit of a hundred men was a dragon-hunting ballista, concealed under a canvas tarp.

A Dothraki rider galloped towards them. He pulled his horse to a halt beside the carriages, turning its head to indicate that the twenty carriages should follow him.

At the Dothraki rider's urging, the procession picked up speed.

Another Dothraki rider galloped up, heading straight for the city gate. He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and fired it towards the city wall.

The arrow had no head; instead, a letter was tied to it.

The arrow flew over the city wall and landed on the ground. A soldier stepped forward and picked it up.

*

The twenty carriages followed the Dothraki rider, passing through the Dothraki encampment and heading towards the rear of the army. After half an hour, the procession arrived at the Dothraki's logistical support area.

Here, children and women were making arrows, old men were sharpening swords, and hundreds of blacksmiths were forging weapons. The weapons were mostly arakh scimitars and iron arrowheads.

A steward approached and took over from the Dothraki leading the convoy.

The steward was also Dothraki, a blacksmith himself, carrying a hammer, bare-chested, with bulging muscles that looked like black iron.

"You all come with me. There's a lot of work to be done here, and we don't have enough hands. Hurry up, damn it, don't dawdle."

The blacksmiths felt uneasy. There were already so many blacksmiths here, why did they need twenty more?

Soon, the twenty blacksmiths were led to the last row of furnaces, where the furnaces were ready, and blacksmith apprentices with unfriendly eyes were already waiting.

The Dothraki had rough, dark skin, while the Qartheen blacksmiths had skin as white as milk.

This made the Qartheen blacksmiths feel the strange and hostile gazes around them.

But, fortunately, when they honestly started working, the gazes that had been fixed on them were withdrawn. The blacksmith steward walked back and forth behind them, watching their smithing, occasionally muttering curses.

The Dothraki language and the Qartheen language were very different. Without the Common Tongue, the two sides could not communicate.

*

In the command tent, Daenerys Targaryen received a report that Qarth had sent twenty blacksmiths and twenty carts of iron ore. They had complied with the conditions Daenerys had set. Perhaps it was a small test designed by the Mountain on purpose, or perhaps it was a trick to gain a psychological advantage. Daenerys did not quite understand the Mountain's intention, but she knew that it was time to execute the Mountain's second order.

Half an hour later, Daenerys once again rode her dragon over the Qartheen royal palace. This time, the dragon-hunting ballistae in the royal plaza were no longer aimed at the black dragon, and the guard troops below were not deployed in formation.

Everyone knew that the two sides had entered a state of negotiation.

Without Daenerys having to shout, soldiers had already reported Daenerys' arrival to the king. Soon, the king and a large group of people came out. In addition to the royal family, there were also the Thirteen, the commanders of the Tourmaline Brotherhood, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Ancient Guild of Spicers, important members, an elder of the Warlocks wearing a mask, and Pyat Pree of the House of the Undying.

Basically, everyone with power in Qarth had come.

Obviously, after Daenerys had sent a message indicating her willingness to negotiate last time, the king had notified the powerful figures in the city, and everyone had come to the royal palace to discuss the negotiations with Daenerys and her people.

Seeing that the king and the powerful figures in the city were all present, Daenerys said, "Your Majesty, esteemed lords, Pyat Pree, I am here on behalf of our allied King Gregor Clegane to inform you that the time for negotiations will be in three days, in the afternoon, at the first drop of silver, at the North Gate. I hope to see Your Majesty and all of you then."

"Queen Daenerys Targaryen, long time no see," said a giant with skin as dark as night. He was a big figure among the Thirteen, and the most different thing about him from everyone else was that he did not have white skin.

The skin of the Qartheen people was as white as milk.

But the skin of this powerful figure was the same as the skin of the people of the Summer Isles: as black as night.

This showed that he was not a native Qartheen.

"Haggo Mol, how have you been?"

"I am well, Your Majesty. May I invite you down for a drink? For the sake of our past friendship, and for the love I once had for you."

"Haggo Mol, I am very grateful that you took me in when I was down on my luck, giving me lodging, food and clothing. When I decided to leave, although you were unwilling to lend me ships and soldiers, you still gave me money and a ship. Daenerys has never forgotten this."

"Since that is the case, please come down, Your Majesty. Haggo Mol swears in his own name, and in the name of the gods, to guarantee Your Majesty's safety."

"I am very sorry, Haggo Mol. King Gregor Clegane is still waiting for my reply. After the peace talks are concluded, I will be the first to visit you, my lord."

"Your Majesty, I am deeply frustrated that I cannot invite you to my home today," Haggo Mol said with a smile.

It was a remarkable achievement that a person of completely different skin color could become one of the Thirteen in Qarth. Haggo Mol entered Qarth through commerce, and then joined the Merchant's Guild through commercial success, eventually becoming one of the Thirteen.

With a light shout from Daenerys, the black dragon soared. This time, it did not fly into the clouds, because without having to worry about the city's dragon-hunting ballistae, the black dragon flew at low altitude, skimming over the city walls and flying back to the Dothraki camp.

*

"Negotiations in three days?" Jorah Mormont frowned slightly. "Your Majesty, King Gregor and Prince Arianne are not in the camp. What should we do if they do not return in three days?"

"We must now make plans for negotiations in the event that the King and Prince do not return," Missandei said coolly.

Grey Worm and Hero stood with their hands behind their backs, standing like spears, without saying a word.

The five khals were not allowed to come in for the meeting. Daenerys did not want them shouting and yelling. The King had suddenly left, and it was not known when he would return, or where he had gone, or what he was doing. The khals were warriors who were determined to fight, and Daenerys did not want to explain the reasons for the peace talks to them. She did not know the reasons either.

Daenerys Targaryen also frowned slightly. Perhaps she had already thought about this question in her heart. The Mountain had also told her long ago that she would be responsible for the negotiations this time, and she remembered the Mountain's conditions and requirements for the peace talks.

"Esteemed lords, if the King does not return, I will lead the talks. Rest assured, I have already thought about how to negotiate. The King has also told me some of his conditions and requirements. Jorah, you and Missandei will be responsible for protecting me on the day of the negotiations."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Grey Worm, Hero, on the day of the negotiations, you will each lead a company of a hundred men, all mounted on swift horses with hard bows, splitting into two groups on the left and right a hundred meters away, with each rider carrying at least three bags of arrows, ready for a surprise attack by the Qartheen."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Grey Worm and Hero said in unison.

"General Rhaenys, you will be responsible for leading a thousand Unsullied, stationed a hundred meters away from me, in the middle, ready to respond to my retreat at any time."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Missandei said, "Your Majesty, shouldn't we notify the five khals to lead the Bloodriders and the guard to prepare for battle?"

"No, there is a black dragon in the sky. If the enemy attempts a surprise attack, Grey Worm, Hero, and Rhaenys will be enough to resist their ground assault, and the black dragon will also launch an attack at the first moment. We can defeat the enemy's sudden attack."

"They wouldn't dare to attack us," Jorah Mormont said in his heart. To avoid affecting everyone's slackness, Jorah did not voice his judgment.

*

Three days later.

Storm's End, Westeros.

The soldiers on the city wall all opened their mouths wide, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief.

They saw a dragon: a white dragon, twice the size of an elephant—Viserion.

The dragon rider was the 'Unrivaled Dragon Knight' Arianne Martell, who had been rewarded by the King.

Bugles and commands sounded one after another, and all the soldiers and citizens of the city raised their heads, watching the beautiful, noble, and elegant white dragon and its mistress in surprise and joy.

"Duke Gendry Baratheon, come out!" The white dragon hovered over the main castle, and Arianne Martell shouted from above.

In the city, people were already cheering for her and the dragon.

Arianne was the Mountain's lover, and everyone in Westeros knew this. This was an open lover relationship, which was passed on among the nobles as a good story. For the nobles who favored lovers, no one was as open and comfortable as His Majesty the King, and he was not even envied and resented by Her Majesty the Queen.

Nobles having lovers was a popular and elegant thing among the nobles. Anyone who did not have a few lovers would feel inferior to others in gatherings with the nobles, and would not speak confidently, first of all lacking self-confidence.

Gendry Baratheon was the Duke of Storm's End. He might be in his castle, or he might not be.

Arianne assumed he was here, so she unceremoniously called him out directly.

Arianne was lucky. In the blacksmith shop of the main castle, a muscular blacksmith with a bare upper body was forging a longsword. Hearing the shout, he went out with a hammer in his hand, and the apprentice hurried over to take over his work. Forging a good sword was at the most critical moment, and it could not be stopped during the forging process, or the quality of the longsword would be damaged.

The blacksmith walked out of the shop, came to the street, looked up at the sky, and saw the white dragon and Princess Arianne Martell.

"Your Highness, please come down with your dragon," the blacksmith shouted. His voice was loud and powerful, just like the hammer he held in his hand.

The white dragon circled once and came to the top of the blacksmith's head. Its dragon claws almost touched the blacksmith's head. The blacksmith was so frightened that he dodged, and almost fell to the ground. The hammer in his hand was also thrown aside.

Arianne laughed on the dragon's back, "Duke, are you forging iron?"

"I am a blacksmith," Gendry did not feel ashamed. He got up from the ground and picked up the hammer. "What's the matter, Your Highness?"

"The King has ordered you to go to Qarth with me."

"When?"

"Immediately."

"How to go?"

"With me."

"Ride a dragon?"

"Ride a dragon!"

"What am I going to Qarth for?"

"To do what you do best?"

"Forging iron?"

"Forging iron, casting cannons!"

Gendry opened his mouth and could not close it.

After a long while, Gendry said, "I can't do it alone."

"There are many Dothraki blacksmiths. Tens of thousands of Dothraki have plundered blacksmiths from all over the world in their ranks."

"Okay, I'll go." Gendry felt his whole body getting hot. He was a blacksmith, and this was exactly what he liked to do. Staying in Storm's End, he felt empty and bored. "How long will it take to fly from here to Qarth on a dragon?"

"I rode the white dragon alone and flew for three days and three nights."

"There will be one more person on the way back."

"The dragon's flying speed and endurance are beyond your imagination. This flight is like a battle for the dragon. We need to return with all our strength."

Gendry looked at his body covered in black dirt and sweat, "Your Highness, I need to take a bath first. The dragon also needs to eat food, and you also need to rest a little."

"Okay, I'll wait for you, everything has to be fast."

"Yes, where is Father? In Qarth?"

The father Gendry was talking about was the Mountain. He was the Mountain's adopted son, his knighthood was conferred by the Mountain, his first title was bestowed by the Mountain, and his surname, which he officially obtained after getting rid of his illegitimate status, was the surname given by the Mountain: Clegane.

"His Majesty the King has gone to King's Landing."

"Father is back too? With you?"

"Yes, he is going to King's Landing to bring two people back to Qarth, one is Master Tobho Mott, and the other is the Grand Maester."

"Grand Maester? I know, the Grand Maester is going to make gunpowder bombs."

"Yes, why don't you go take a bath quickly?"

*

King's Landing.

The cheers of the whole city resounded as one. His Majesty the King had returned, riding a giant dragon. The dragon's wings spread out, blocking a large area of the sky, and the shadow it cast covered a large part of the city.

The dragon hovered in front of the Alchemists' Guild: "Grand Maester, I am Gregor Clegane I, please come out quickly, there is an urgent matter."

The streets on the left and right, and the alleys in front and behind, were crowded with people watching the excitement.

The dragon and His Majesty the King were the guarantee of the safety of the city's citizens, and also the power to ensure the stability and strength of the country.

The Grand Maester and the alchemists almost ran to the outside of the gate. The Grand Maester and dozens of alchemists knelt on one knee together, and saluted His Majesty the King on the dragon's back.

"Grand Maester, go to the square of the Great Sept of Baelor, my dragon will land there. The military situation is urgent, I think you have to hurry up."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The dragon was too big, and the streets could not let her land easily, the space was limited. The Mountain chose to land on the square of the Great Sept of Baelor.

The Pyromancer's Guild wasn't far from Steel Street, and Steel Street wasn't far from the Great Sept of Baelor.

When the Dragonmount arrived at Steel Street, all the blacksmith apprentices ran out of their shops and stood on the street, cheering for the king.

“Master Tobho Mott, urgent military matter, come to the plaza of the Great Sept of Baelor immediately. The sooner the better.”

“As you command, Your Grace.” Tobho Mott didn't even bother to change his clothes before heading towards the Great Sept of Baelor.

Since they had prepared hundreds, even thousands, of dragon-hunting crossbows, he would let them taste the power of firearms. After taking Qarth, the news would surely shock the entire East, which would form a tremendous deterrent against those giant eastern cities in the direction of Essos.