Drogon

The dusk of the 7th day found Kai facing the door to the officer's cabin.

Black Betha had stayed in the sea for a day, circling the volcanic island. Kai had proved himself as skilled as Raul had proclaimed him to be and much more. Whatever the mates ordered him to do, and was expected of him to do, Kai did that with mastery as befitting a beginner Seaman. He still had a long way to be called in the same names as the experienced Seamen, but for his age, and looking at the time of his training, he had already outsmarted over half of the crew.

Now was the decisive moment, Kai knew.

Doubtlessly Kai would get Matthos' approval, what with Melisandre's words and the queer interest she had openly shown in him. The thing that troubled him was the guards stationed on the deck, fully armed and alive, to take him to the Red Woman.

'Worse comes to worst, I will just kill everyone,' Kai thought, pressing his brows. 'Item-M warned me against carrying out unnecessary slaughters, though. You never know when Order would just assign a mission to kill you to some higher floor Contestants, she told me. Then there is the Abnormality Limiter. Any happenstance of someone seeing me doing something extraordinary can cause my instant death. Tch!'

"Don't be nervous," Raul told him, towering to his left. "You have done a fine job. There is the slight problem of you not getting along with other crew members, but… we won't need to worry about it, I guess."

The pity in the brute's voice was too much to ignore. Kai lifted his face and attempted a smile. Matthos' voice seeped out from the closed-door then. "Come in."

The doors creaked as Raul entered, followed by Kai, who closed them after stepping in.

The Quartermaster's cabin was the only other cabin on the ship that housed a single occupant other than the Captain's. Both the mates bunked together, followed by other officers who also shared a room. The rest of the crew bunked towards the ship's bow, congested into a single giant hall. Privacy only existed until words were within mouths and dicks within pants.

The ship and the sea knew everything else; every little secret and every petty gossip.

"Ah!" Matthos exclaimed knowingly. "Desmond, is it? His apprenticeship is over, then?"

Matthos was in his early twenties, Kai noticed. Short hair, black eyes, and gaunt stature. The first and second mates both were older than Matthos, yet none of the crew had any issue with accepting orders from the young man. It seemed to Kai that Matthos shared his father's instinct and talent. Though, from what Item-M had told him, the young man wasn't half as wise as the Onion Knight, Ser Davos Seaworth.

"Yes, sir," Raul replied for Kai. "The boy lacks the experience for me to call him a sailor. Other than that, he is a nice young lad. The best thing is he doesn't scowl or talk back."

Raul and Matthos shared a laugh as Kai sheepishly grinned along with them.

After a few moments of deliberation, Matthos' face became solemn, befitting his rank, and he looked at Kai with the eyes of a quartermaster. "As per custom," he began, mustering the heaviness in his voice, "we rarely raise a ship's boy to a seaman before a few long sea tours, am I right? (-Raul nodded-). But our second mate thinks there is no point in you being called a ship's boy when you are doing the work of over one seaman by yourself. I agree with him."

Kai beamed. Matthos stood up, approached Kai, and looked into his eyes.

"So I," he continued, "Matthos Seaworth, Quartermaster, and son of Ser Davos Seaworth, Captain of Black Betha, honors you with the post of Seaman."

The appearance of the notification was instantaneous.

[

Side Mission: Elementary Seamanship

Side Mission Status: Success

Side Mission Rewards:

1. 165 Mission Credits

2. Ability: Elementary Seamanship

]

[

You have triggered a Side Mission

Main Mission: Three heads of the Targaryen Dragon

Side Mission: The birth of Drogon

Side Mission Summary: Dragonstone, the volcanic island at the mouth of Blackwater Bay, and created by the active volcano, Dragonmont, once was the seat of Valyrians, even before the Doom of Valyria. The Valyrians had brought with them magic, shaping the mountain and rocks, and birthing the Castle of Dragonstone.

For long House Targaryen ruled this island, growing their Dragons in Dragonstone's firepits and hatcheries. Now Stannis of House Baratheon goes by the name of Lord of Dragonstone, and ages have come and gone since Dragonmont's fiery, sulphuric breath had kissed a dragon's lungs. One thing hasn't changed, though. It had been here before the Valyrians, and it will remain here for unseen ages to come.

The lava! It runs in the veins of this island like blood. Within the tunnels of the Dragonmont are rich chunks of dragonglass, or the obsidian, of many colors. It is known.

What is not known is that there is one stone that has no name outside, and whose nature remains magical despite the ordinary times.

Lady Elissa Farman had once stolen three eggs from the Targaryen dragon's hatcheries on the island and had successfully smuggled them off into the lands beyond the narrow sea. Unknown and untold to everyone, Lady Elissa had stolen not three but four eggs, the fourth being the biggest one. But in haste and carelessness, the egg had slipped from the thief's grasp, falling into the lava vein that runs deep under the island's skin.

Side Mission Objective: Find the missing egg

Side Mission Time Limit: 1 month

Side Mission Hint: Captain's Privilege

Do you accept the side-mission?

]

A loud smack at the back of Kai's head brought him out of his reverie.

"Well, seven hells!" Raul bellowed. "Bow, you bloody idiot!"

Kai gave a courteous bow, massaging his head. It pained him a little, but not doing anything would bring his Abnormality Limiter down.

Matthos returned to his chair, glancing at the map spread out on the table. "Now that you are a Seaman, Desmond," he said, without looking at Kai, "you have two choices. One, you can stay at Black Betha, where you will be at the lowest in the crew ranking. Two, you can seek crewmanship on a sailing ship, with my hand-written recommendation letter, of course. So, what will it be?"

Raul said nothing. Kai could tell he was looking at him, but he wouldn't recommend anything, not in Matthos' presence at least. But Kai's cunning and intelligence knew no bounds. He wasn't a match for Petyr, true. But the events happening around him weren't so complex for him to not squeeze the meaning out of them.

'If I choose the first option,' Kai thought, squinting his eyes in a thoughtful expression, 'then I would probably get a Milestone, the Black Betha being a ship mentioned in the books (-major ships covered in his sessions with Item-M-). The second option has many possibilities too. Hmm…'

After a moment of repeating this thought, Kai raised two fingers, telling his choice.

Both Raul and Matthos smiled.

*********

AN: Following references are available on Discord

1. Matthos: image and snippet

2. Dragonstone and the castle: image and snippet

3. Lady Elissa Farman: snippet