Chapter 14

Halon. Pentos.

Three months later.

When I finally managed to tear myself away from work, I decided to organize a family dinner. The pleasant weather and the good state of affairs kind of hinted at it.

The atmosphere on the balcony of my now mansion was quite lively. Rizza was feeding Iona and smiling happily. Solomon was merely sipping wine, while his maid Fina was enthusiastically munching on fruit. Normally it would be sacrilege for a maid to sit at the table with the lord, but I didn't really care, and Solomon convinced her to do so. No guards were required, as there was nothing Solomon could not prevent.

It had been three months since my father's death, and I had taken over as magister. A farewell was held by the men of the Red Faith, organizing a funeral pyre. As his body disappeared into the flames of the pyre, I only watched in silence, remembering the past. He wasn't the best father, but he wasn't the worst, I must admit.

After that, things came crashing down on me like a waterfall, and free time became a holiday for me. Since I was planning to subtly change the structure of the city, I needed a lot of time.

First, moving Rizza and Jonah back to the city. Rizza understood everything quickly and accepted it calmly, but there was still the question of their safety. The solution came rather quickly: with Solomon's support, they would be constantly watched from the shadows by the followers of the Red Faith, of which there were many in the city.

Even knowing that there was no place in Pentos without their eyes or ears, I was doubtful and worried. Still, I trusted them, as there was essentially no other choice. There were extremely few people I could trust, and I was left to trust the fanatics well and Solomon himself.

Secondly, the issue of slavery. Pentos is ruled by three magistrates, of which I am now one. And the prince himself, for that matter, though that one is just a puppet. And now, it is necessary either to convince them to change the standard of living, in the city, thanks to which slavery, as such, will disappear, or... disarm and do it all myself.

Dealing with the issue verbally is easy because of the treaty to "abolish" slavery, but then it will be hard to pay tribute to the Dothraki to keep them from simply taking over the city, since Pentos is still under an agreement with Braavos. It's good to know that at least I don't have to fear a surprise attack from the other Free Cities, since they all have Red Faith to alert me.

The whole issue comes down to gold. I need a new source of income that can cover the costs. But where to get it? It's unclear. Although.

- Solomon. - I called out to him.

- Hm?

- I need your help. And I'd be very grateful if you would.

- Money, I take it? - He asked calmly, taking a sip of wine from his glass, to which I nodded briefly.

- Hmm..." he hesitated, "I don't suppose you care much about the attention you might get from my ideas?

- The Free Cities prefer not to meddle in each other's affairs," I shrugged, "And Westeros is too far away to cause excitement.

The Free Cities only care about themselves, so I see no reason to worry. Even if Solomon's proposed option gives them a significant boost in finances, the most they'll do is a trade treaty.

Westeros? If I recall my father's papers, they certainly won't have much time for Pentos. They're in their own cauldron and don't see the point in doing anything drastic about such a remote city.

Besides, if something like this were to happen, the other free cities would rather help than ignore it. After all, no one knows if they'll be next, and risking their power to rule the cities is absurd.

- Оh? Then I have a solution for you. - Solomon smiled and made himself comfortable.

- I'm listening...

-0-

Solomon. Pentos.

Three months later.

Walking slowly through the streets, I dare say it's as if Pentos has gotten a second wind. All because I shared with Halon the blueprints for the printing press and how to create the lenses.

Since printing requires paper, I was able to get Halon to cooperate with Ned. He, of course, looked at me skeptically at the idea of interacting with Westeros, much less the North, but sent a raven nonetheless. The answering raven flew in soon enough, agreeing of course. Most likely the mention of my name in Halon's letter played a significant role in this.

Thus, the printing of books and manuscripts was started. Which the Red Faith people decided to take advantage of. One afternoon, Erin, hearing the news, burst into my room with a request that the first text to come off the press would be R'Glor's writing. Which reminded me of the first batch of printed bibles.

After much persuasion, I did agree, subject to censorship on my part, as well as quantity limits. And, as it seemed to me, she stopped listening to me as soon as approval came out of my mouth.

Having studied the scriptures, I was met with exactly what I expected from devoted fanatics: "The Lord of Light is omnipotent," "He is good, merciful and grants salvation to His followers," and so on. However, I was confused by the clause about burning. And not just of heretics, but of self-sacrifice in fire, sacrifices and the like, which I decided to definitely remove. To this, Erin didn't express the slightest bit of displeasure, but only nodded briefly, even though she should have done the exact opposite.

In the end, the first ten scripts came off the machine a month ago. And Erin's next actions really impressed me. She gathered a crowd in front of the temple and randomly handed out all ten scriptures to ten people, who then began to share what they had read with others.

Yes, not everyone could read, but that only played into the hands of the non-scientists who sought help from the scholars, which only increased the effect of this medieval marketing, namely word of mouth. And since those who could read and write were mostly servants of high-ranking members of the city, the writing got to them as well.

And the main reason was money. The self-confident and wealthy wanted to get their own machine for their personal use. The gold flowed to Halon, because he was the one who revealed the information about the device and was the main sponsor. Ned also got his share of the pie, as the white paper was supplied by him, which was worth a lot.

Regarding lenses, glass was not uncommon in Essos, so production was cheap and quick. There were a lot of people with vision problems. And it didn't really bother them until the printing press came along. The rich even gave them away for free to raise their reputation and attractiveness in the eyes of others, because people had a desire to learn to read and write.

There was a demand for scholarship, and a lot of it. The reason was simple. Anyone rich enough could try to publish what they wanted. And the poor were looking for a way to get away from work and learn more.

Of course, there was censorship. On my advice, and Halon had thought of it himself, he had set up a sort of department that would check every text before letting it go to press. And for an extra fee, the checking could be accelerated.

In short, the money problem was solved, and one invention supported another and vice versa. Maybe I should suggest that Halon build schools. Perhaps.

- My lord!" I suddenly heard little Fina's voice and turned around. She was running towards me, holding her dress in her hands so she wouldn't trip, and her face flushed with exertion. It looked quite adorable though, as Fina was about one and a half meters tall and had almost childlike facial features. To be as accurate as possible, she looked like a pop idol from modern times.

- My Lord! Why didn't you wait for me and leave on your own?! I thought you abandoned me! - When she reached me, she said excitedly, getting distracted by her panting every now and then.

- Well, well, well. I wouldn't do that to my little Fina. - I smiled, to which she pouted adorably.

- You're bad. - she said with a note of feigned resentment in her voice.

- That's just the way it is," I said and stroked her head, to which she began to caress my hand on her own. "Erin wanted to talk to you about something, and I didn't want to interrupt you. Did something happen?

- That's right! - She exclaimed and raised her head - They've arrived. They were accompanied by one of the magisters named Illyrio Mopatis. The High Priestess said they were staying at the Magister's mansion not far from here.

- Оh? - I tilted my head to the side - In that case, I want to visit them. Will you come with me?

- Of course! You're not going anywhere without me! - she said emphatically, making a serious face, which looked cute.

- All right, then. Then, lead the way. - I smiled and held out my hand to her.

-0-

Daenerys Targaryen. Pentos.

Finally, we reached the city and stopped at the villa of magister Illyrio Mopatis. Which I was unspeakably happy about, relaxing in the chair. Traveling between the free cities had worn me out quite a bit. Yes, my brother and I didn't have to worry about random bandits, but the tension still lingered.

The Usurper is cunning and vindictive. And anyone who meets him could turn out to be an assassin sent by him, as Viserys, my older brother, had told me. We never stayed long in one place for fear of assassination attempts.

Pentos was like other free cities, but with a twist, it seemed to me. The townspeople here were different. They were... smarter? Yes, smarter than in the other cities we'd visited, and their views clearer.

Small crowds of people gathered in random places and were actively discussing something. I got a sense of the intelligent conversations my brother told me about, but they were just ordinary peasants, right? Why did this feeling visit my mind just by looking at them?

- Why do you have such a pensive face, magister? - The brother asked, looking at Illyrio and taking a sip of wine - Is someone causing trouble?

- Perhaps. - replied the Magister, scratching his chin.

- Perhaps? - inquired the brother.

- The magister, with whom I had several active deals, has died, and his son has taken his place. I'm just considering my next move, my lord.

- Isn't that common, Magister? The son inherited the title.

- Not exactly," Illyrio shook his head, "Usually a Magister is elected by financial status or by the judgment of the other Magisters. In rare cases, when a new magister "deals" with the previous one. And it's clear to me exactly what method was used in this one. Also, the rumors wandering the streets of the city make me a bit wary.

- I don't see any reason to worry, as long as it doesn't prevent us from getting an army.

- I doubt that it will.

- An army? - I asked.

- Oh, right. I didn't tell you," my brother smiled and looked at me, "You're getting married, dear sister!

- Married?!

- That's right. A Khal, who has a whole horde at his disposal, has decided to marry you! - Just imagine how horrified the usurper will be when he sees our army!

- But I don't want to marry someone I've never even met!

- Don't you want revenge on the man who took the throne from me? Or our father's murderer, Daenerys? Don't you realize what this savage is offering just to marry you?

- But...

- Either way, your words mean nothing. He will come here, where you will meet him in person. I hope you can impress him. Otherwise.

- I... understand... big brother. - I said humbly and rubbed my face where the last bruise I had received from my furious brother had been.

If... if this allows the Targaryens to regain the Iron Throne, then... I'm willing to go for it... I guess....

Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the room, and then one of Illyrio's men stepped inside.

- Magister - he bowed - Two unknown men approached the villa. A man and a woman who is part of the Red Faith.

The Magister raised an eyebrow and frowned, and the brother-.

- Оh? They have come to greet their king? - He exclaimed and stood up from his seat and headed for the exit - Lead me to him. It would be rude not to greet his subjects. Daenerys, Illyrio, follow me.

The guard only nodded briefly and led his brother outside. The Magister, on the other hand, sighed tiredly and a few seconds later rose from his chair as well.

- Come, my lady," he said and held out his hand to me, "We shouldn't keep him waiting.

I started and together with the magister followed my brother.

Once outside, my eyes noticed two people standing near the entrance to the villa. The petite girl dressed in red robes was obviously the one who was a follower of the Red Faith, the most common religion in the Free Cities, and the man...

He was amazing. And I'm not talking about his appearance, since his body was covered by a cloak, but his aura. A feeling of awe swept over my mind as it reminded me of a dragon. Gigantic, mighty, and majestic. So much so that for a moment I held my breath at the feeling.

- Who are you? Identify yourself to your king! - my brother said confidently, but I didn't listen.

My eyes never left the man's silhouette, simply because they couldn't. And when he took off his hood and his face was revealed, I gasped and felt the heat rise to my cheeks. He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

- Solomon, the traveling Magician," he said, smiling and looking us over, "It's nice to meet you.

-0-

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