"The Ironborn's longships may have shallow drafts, allowing them to sail close to the riverbanks and hide in narrow tributaries, but the Iron Islands have been destroyed. They have nowhere to retreat to, and they rely entirely on plunder for supplies."
"If they linger near Highgarden, they can only sustain themselves by continually raiding riverside villages and passing ships. But once they cause enough trouble, no hiding place will conceal their tracks. Someone is bound to notice them, and if they get surrounded here, they'll have nowhere to hide."
Viserys paused, then continued, "So if they want to live, they have to head out onto the open sea. Their ships are small and light, which naturally makes them faster. When pursuers appear, they can turn and change course more nimbly than larger ships, so they can escape faster too."
"There are plenty of small islands and reefs in the waters beyond the Shield Islands, with channels crisscrossing between them. Large ships can easily run aground there, which gives small ships like theirs an advantage. Whether they flee north or turn back south, it's a good place for them. They won't be hemmed in as they would be on an inland river."
As he spoke, he looked back at Margaery before continuing, "So those suspicious places near Highgarden were probably once the Ironborn's favorite haunts. There are plenty of branching waterways there, and it's easy to hide ships."
"But things are different now. They're desperate to conceal themselves and won't linger near Highgarden. Searching those places one by one would only waste our time. We'd be better off looking around the Shield Islands first. That's a journey more worth making."
Viserys said this because he had already examined those places using his warg abilities. He did not need to visit each