Chapter 99: The City of Monsters

"Could it be Melisandre?" Nymeria pondered aloud.

"Melisandre?" She shook her head. "I've never heard of that name. When I left, all the city's followers had entered the temple, and none of them had come out yet."

Wright thought carefully, trying to recall what he knew. Melisandre's name hadn't crossed his mind in a long time. Ever since he had slain a few White Walkers, he'd paid little attention to other magic usera in this world, nearly forgetting her entirely.

"Melisandre is extraordinarily beautiful," Wright explained. "She has red eyes and red hair, and her body exudes a kind of heat. Wherever she goes, she dresses lightly. Any normal man who lays eyes on her would be filled with desire."

Nymeria ran a hand across Wright's chest. "And you?"

With an unchanging expression, Wright replied earnestly, "My knowledge of her has nothing to do with lusting after her beauty. It's because she's a sorceress — a dangerous one, especially for people like you."

Tyene paused from labeling potions, turning her gaze toward Wright. Nymeria also stood up, her face serious. It was the first time they had heard Wright speak to them in such a tone.

Wright stopped his alchemy work as well. "Though she appears breathtakingly beautiful, she's actually over two hundred years old."

"Over two hundred years?" The two women's eyes lit up with intrigue.

Typical, Wright thought, shaking his head. He straightened his expression. "Her body has long since deteriorated. She relies on dark magic to maintain her appearance, like wearing a human skin. She can't have children, and any union with a man results in a black, rotting mass that dies within days."

Wright embellished his explanation, drawing on memories of a certain television show. He wanted to ensure the two women wouldn't fall under Melisandre's spell.

He continued, "Her danger doesn't just come from her magic, but from her faith in the Lord of Light, R'hllor. I've gone through numerous records, and there's no evidence that the Lord of Light has ever truly appeared in history — except in the mouths of their zealots."

"The R'hllor temple in Volantis is the largest one," Wright explained further. "Of course, their place of origin might have even grander temples. I've inquired around the city and learned that they also possess an armed force called Fiery Hand. There are about a thousand of them in Volantis."

"A thousand? That's not a lot. You could take care of them with one spell," Tyene said, recalling Wright's exploits in Braavos.

"They mean nothing to me," Wright replied confidently. "But I'm worried about you two. Remember the religious wars of Westeros over two centuries ago? These people are fanatics. They'll launch suicidal charges for their faith, believing death leads them to their Lord of Light. A thousand of their armed zealots could easily outmatch a thousand knights in sheer ferocity."

"Then I just won't provoke them," Nymeria suggested casually. She often joined the supply caravans to Volantis and occasionally wandered the city, making it hard to avoid potential encounters with the zealots.

"That's the most frustrating part about them!" Wright snapped. "If they see you have wealth, they'll try to convert you. If you have influence, they'll try to convert you. If you have power, they'll try to convert you. Refuse, and you're branded a heretic and a rebel. You two embody all three traits, making you ideal targets for their preaching."

Wright smiled and took the opportunity to criticize the R'hllor cult. "Melisandre herself is quite powerful. Nymeria, if you faced her one-on-one, you wouldn't stand a chance. She's skilled in fire, shadow, and blood magic."

"Alright, we'll be careful. But what about you — how would you fare against her?" Nymeria was genuinely concerned for Wright.

Wright shrugged, leaning against the alchemy table. "We're not enemies right now, but if she ever crosses me, I could offer her dozens of ways to die and let her choose."

"That's a relief. If we can't handle her, we'll call on you to deal with her." Nymeria thought to herself that if Melisandre came for her, the best course of action would be to ignore her. If she persisted, Wright could just take care of it.

At that moment, a young female slave entered the tent, her head lowered, and announced, "Lord Wright, I've brought dinner."

Behind her, another female slave carried two large platters filled with food.

"Bring it in! Just put it on the table." Nymeria responded for Wright.

Wright, who had spent nearly two decades living the life of a nobleman, wasn't shy about enjoying the finer things. Both Nymeria and Tyene were the same. They could survive alone in the wild, but when it came to comfort, they didn't skimp on themselves.

The two slaves were ones Nymeria had personally chosen, who were briefed on the locations of the hidden magical wards and were responsible for their daily care. Their families had also been slaves, and thus, they were born into the same fate.

These women had been trained in Volantis to serve, and they were still young, untouched by men, as their masters preferred to wait until they were older to fetch a better price.

Upon hearing that dinner had arrived, Wright hurried to finish his potion brewing. There wasn't much left to prepare.

The two slaves quickly set the table, arranging the food and utensils. Nymeria sat beside the table, looking at the blonde slave girl next to her, reaching into her skirt.

The slave girl was taken aback by the sudden action, but years of training had taught her to submit without resistance, continuing to set the table as instructed.

"How boring!" Nymeria withdrew her hand and turned to call out to Wright and Tyene. "How much longer are you two going to take?"

"I'm done," Wright answered as he finished the last of his work and left the tent to find a basket to carry the bottles.

Tyene, who had just finished applying labels, glanced at him, muttering, "Exactly one hundred bottles," as she discreetly hid two extra bottles in her sleeve.

"Go ahead and eat," Wright said. "I'll finish packing these up and join you."

Tyene took a seat beside Nymeria, watching as Wright returned with the basket. The two slaves exited the tent to wait outside, and Tyene sat down next to Nymeria.

"Are you not going to put on a dress?" she asked.

"In this heat, what's the point?" Nymeria responded, before turning to Wright. "Wright, make the wind from the Ice Giant stronger!"

"Got it!" Wright called out, and as he returned to the tent, the Ice Giant outside increased the wind's strength.

The meal was a portion of fried ground meat, with vegetables and fruits as sides, and red wine brewed in Volantis. Tyene pulled out two small bottles from her sleeve and poured the blue liquid into Wright's dish of meat.

Nymeria watched Tyene carefully. She knew the woman wouldn't poison Wright, so she leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "What's the potion?"

"Strengthening," Tyene replied, using the name Wright had given it. She looked at the meat dish, now tinged with a bluish hue, unsure of what to do.

Nymeria instantly understood the effect of the potion. She grabbed a nearby fruit, squeezed out red juice, and mixed it into the dish, turning the sauce a pale purple — at least it resembled the color of the meat now.

Wright finished his task and sat down to eat. "Not bad! It has a strong fruity flavor," he remarked.

As they neared the end of their meal, the two slaves returned to clean up. Meanwhile, Wright and the others began discussing matters more seriously.

The next morning, Wright woke up early, fully dressed and stretching his back at the tent entrance. The supplies that were supposed to have arrived yesterday had only partially come in, with most of it still unaccounted for. There was a chance something had gone wrong.

To reach Volantis, the supplies had to pass through the Smoking Sea, and the ships had to transport the goods in stages — sailing from the ruins of Oros to the ruins of Tyria and then into the Valyrian Peninsula.

The Oros ruins were inhabited, though they had a bad reputation. Still, it was a convenient place for the Volantis people to conduct their business. The Smoking Sea, however, was full of dangerous reefs, and it wasn't an ideal place for navigation. But some brave and skilled sailors would dare to venture in, and some pirates or mercenaries on the run would escape into its treacherous waters.

Wright felt uneasy. The shipment was food, and if the supplies didn't arrive, the workers might revolt, or if the rebellion were suppressed, it wouldn't be his problem. Wright had paid for the shipment in advance, and the slaves should be looking to their masters if they had any issues.

What Wright was truly concerned about were the several bags of silver coins hidden among the food. These coins were exchanged through Varys's little birds, spread throughout Volantis to avoid attracting attention. The silver coins were crucial for his plans.

Once he had them, Wright would use magic to transmute the iron into silver, and then silver into gold. Volantis didn't use iron coins, only copper, silver, and gold. Wright had acquired a large amount of silver coins and planned to use them for his advantage.

But the magic wasn't permanent, and over time, the transmutation would wear off, typically within a month. So, Wright had exchanged gold coins for goods in small amounts at first, then eventually found a large slave owner to whom he could give all his "gold". Wright didn't care about these "People"(Slave owners) and had no qualms about exploiting them.

"Rest up, you two," Wright told the still-sleeping women. "The food convoy might have run into trouble. I'm going to check outside the camp."

After saddling his dark steed, Avak, Wright rode out of the camp.

Soldiers and slaves along the roadside watched as Wright rode his skeletal horse at full speed. Although they had seen it countless times by now, they still found their employer to be incredibly mysterious. It took nearly two hours to reach the Matarys in the north, even with Avak's stamina and speed. Wright rode through the decayed city ruins, finally arriving at the port.

There were many large ships docked at the port, and all around, bonfires roasted meat — some animals, others human. Wright did a quick scan and estimated there were at least a few hundred people, all dressed in black, tattered cloaks. As Wright rode in on his skeletal horse, this group didn't react with their usual surprise. Instead, they looked at him with greedy expressions, some even drooling.

Wright's eyes narrowed as he took a closer look. Some had two heads, others were covered in boils, some had arms that reached the ground, and some had four eyes and mouths that could open wide enough to reveal rows of sharp teeth. There were even those suffering from severe grey scale. Mataris is in the north of the ruins of Valyria. Because of some kind of pollution, there are many monsters there, so it is called the "City of Monsters".

Wright expanded his magical senses to the maximum but detected no magical energy. There were no mages among them. Wright knew to remain cautious and decided to find the merchant convoy first.

In the middle of the dock stood a rectangular pit, seemingly freshly dug. A voice suddenly called out from the direction of the city ruins: "Did you see that pit?" Another voice came from the opposite direction: "That's the grave I dug for you!"

Wright drew out the Dark Sisters, ready for action. He also cast the Ironflesh spell and added a Lightning Cloak for extra protection. Now fully armored, he began searching for the source of the voices.

A figure emerged, clad in dark, scale-like armor. His body, arms, and thighs were covered in large metallic segments, with mysterious symbols etched into them. Each scale had a golden edge, and as he moved, his entire body gleamed. He carried his helmet in his hand, and after a few swift steps, he leaped onto the ship's bow. With one foot on the handrail and the other on a figurehead, he faced Wright, wearing a wicked grin. He removed his eye patch, revealing a single eye, and said, "Wright Baratheon, time to die!"

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