The Return of Laenor

The Serpentine Isles, a settlement.

The bay lay calm, beside a splendid palace perched atop towering cliffs.

Hundreds of nobles, mercenaries, and slaveowners from the Three Daughters had gathered.

A burly, black-bearded man sat cross-legged on a wool rug, arguing heatedly with two other men.

"The king on the Iron Throne lost his son. He'll burn us all to ashes along with him."

"You want to surrender? Go ahead and try."

"Enough talk. Our tapestries and perfumes sold in Quells brought in another handsome profit..."

As they talked, the conversation suddenly turned to maritime trade.

As long as there was money to be made, no risk was too great.

The black-bearded man grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. "I heard the Red Kraken is dead. Serves him right for plundering an entire town's wealth."

"He was too arrogant. He even dared to return to the Iron Islands and get himself killed."

The man with the short purple-dyed hair and mustache sounded regretful.

What a fine pawn he'd been. Too bad he was so selfish.

"Those who don't know how to share their profits can only die clutching their gold."

A Myrish slaveowner with curly white hair sneered. "But the dragons of the Iron Throne will come again. What are we going to do?"

"Run?"

"Bullshit. We have a business to run."

"Then we fight."

"Idiot. Can you withstand dragonflame?"

The three men in charge exchanged words, each wearing a grim expression.

The others sat around them, watching with amused smiles.

The continent of Sothoryos was desolate and remote, and the Serpentine Isles were even more uninhabited.

If they hid in a stone cave, how thick a layer of rock could dragonflame burn through?

"We've already retreated south from the Disputed Lands. We can't keep retreating forever."

The black-bearded man