Danyla rode Dreamfyre straight to Earl Hightower's chambers and blasted them open with dragonfire, then had Dreamfyre land in the little garden outside. The exquisite, lavish garden was instantly destroyed beneath Dreamfyre's enormous body.
Danyla stepped through the still-burning window into Earl Hightower's chambers, with Myracis following close behind to protect her. By then, however, Earl Hightower had already fled under the protection of his few remaining guards.
Danyla walked unhurriedly into Earl Hightower's adjoining study.
"There should be plenty of House Hightower's secrets to uncover here!"
Earl Hightower's study held a vast collection of books, many of which looked very old. Several ancient, carved cabinets were locked, so Danyla had Myracis slice them open with her dragon claws.
Since they were locked, whatever lay inside surely had to be something special. The cabinets contained exquisite wooden boxes of various sizes.
When Danyla opened them, she found that they mostly held land deeds, property deeds, partnership agreements, and similar documents. After a rough mental calculation, she estimated their value at no less than several hundred million gold dragons.
The land and property deeds covered an extensive area. Beyond the major cities of Westeros, House Hightower had purchased numerous estates and shops in the Free Cities and even the Summer Isles.
Their holdings actually exceeded House Targaryen's in both number and scale. Danyla was fairly familiar with the royal family's assets. Over the years, House Targaryen had also purchased many estates and shops in the Free Cities.
Otherwise, how could House Targaryen have accumulated such considerable wealth with nothing but Dragonstone's barren land and meager tax revenues?
By the time of Game of Thrones, House Targaryen had presumably fallen into such dire straits because its holdings in the Free Cities had been all but lost.
The financial resources that allowed Aegon