"Drop the Fireweed! I can let you live!" Purplebeard shouted.
"The Wolf Pack Company may not keep its word as faithfully as the Golden Company, but at least we haven't sunk to being robbers and liars like you!" Handsome Man said bluntly.
"That's him, Lord Bardak, the Lion of Meereen! He's the sellsword who killed Rust!" Purplebeard told the Meereenese man beside him, pointing at Gendry a short distance behind Handsome Man.
"That black-haired boy in the iron mask killed Rust?" the Meereenese pit fighter asked Purplebeard in rough, halting speech. His eyes found Gendry. He was a large, brown-skinned Meereenese man wearing black-and-red leather armor and carrying a spear, with a bald head and a face crisscrossed with scars.
"Yes. I'll never forget that mace as long as I live!" Purplebeard said.
"I'll kill him, then eat his heart! Eating a brave man's heart makes a pit fighter stronger!" Bardak looked eager. "Rust wasn't that strong, but he still won dozens of fights in the pits. This boy killed Rust. I'll have to deal with him myself!"
"Would you like to put on some plate armor, Lord Bardak? Fighting without armor puts you at too much of a disadvantage!" Purplebeard urged.
"Wear that clumsy armor? My speed is my greatest pride. Leather is enough!" Impatience crossed the Meereenese man's face. Purplebeard said no more. Meereenese pit fighters wore no protection in the arena, because what the spectators wanted most was to see blood spray.
"Yes, Lord Bardak! But Torello only ordered us to slow them down and seize an opportunity to recover the Fireweed, not fight the Wolf Pack Company to the death!" Purplebeard looked troubled.
"Coward!" Bardak sneered dismissively, then raised his spear and charged.
"Those Meereenese gladiators are all reckless brutes, as impulsive as wild boars!" Purplebeard said bitterly, holding back his eager men.
"Let the runaway slaves go first!"
"But how are we going to explain this to Torello?" Purplebeard's paymaster asked with a miserable expression.
"Explain? That doesn't mean we have to die in some pointless battle. Can you spend gold when you're dead? The Wolf Pack Company is a tough nut to crack. Slowing them down a little already counts as completing our task! Let the Meereenese and the runaway slaves wear them down, and see if we get an opening." Sellswords carried all manner of equipment. Only the Golden Company's gear rivaled that of a regular army; many sellsword companies had few armored men. These brigand sellswords were no match for the Wolf Pack Company in equipment.
Purplebeard waved a hand, and a bewildered crowd of runaway slaves began charging after the Meereenese fighter. Most runaway slaves ended up as cheap brigand sellswords in the Disputed Lands, but without proper training or nourishment, they were of little use in a fight.
"Come out, you little brat in the mask!" the Meereenese gladiator roared, with a motley assortment of runaway slaves waving banners and shouting behind him.
"Draw! Loose!" the Arrow Maker commanded. The longbows sent arrows through beautiful arcs before they rained down. Several unlucky runaway slaves were showered with arrows, becoming hedgehogs along with their horses.
Only the crafty Meereenese gladiator avoided the longbows' line of fire. Though his horse crashed heavily to the ground, he reached the front of their formation. Unfortunately for him, he was the only one who had made it that far.
"Coward!" the Meereenese man snarled, looking back at Purplebeard, who remained on the hill. The brigand sellswords had no intention of charging down to help.
Whoosh! Dick the Bowmaker drew his longbow. The arrow flew as smoothly as a blade through silk, then buried itself in the Meereenese man's left shoulder. Blood seeped from the wound.
"Cowards! Cowards hiding in boxes of armor!" Bardak bellowed, then raised his spear.
Handsome Man had already stepped forward to meet him. Bardak's spear darted unpredictably, striking again and again like a serpent flicking its tongue.
Handsome Man raised his longsword, but it was not faster than the spear. The spear cut a gash across his face, and red blood flowed. Yet by taking that blow, Handsome Man managed to slash Bardak's arm in return.
"Die!" Gendry watched the enraged Bardak as his mace came down with a low, heavy whistle.
"Coward!" Bardak roared. His spear thrust at Gendry from an impossible angle, but Gendry's oak shield blocked it. In that brief opening, the mace still smashed mercilessly into Bardak's face.
Qyburn hurried over.
"Dump a few crates of Fireweed! Move!" Handsome Man hastily tended his wound, then looked up at the brigand knights on the hill.
Chapter 27: Salladhor Saan, the Pirate of Lys (please keep reading)
On the bloody battlefield, the Meereenese man still twitched on the ground.
"They're not trying to destroy us! They're trying to delay our journey!" Gendry said.
Gendry's hammer had crushed half the Meereenese man's head. His skull was shattered, leaving a gaping hole. He was plainly about to breathe his last, but Gendry did not strike again. Qyburn approached, still thinking about his plan for an undead warrior, an invincible undead guard.
"This is an excellent specimen!" Qyburn hurried over, carefully raising a spear as he tried to approach Bardak, the burly, seven-foot Meereenese fighter whose head Gendry had half smashed apart.
The spearhead was coated in a dark, thick black substance: Black Manticore venom, a poison that went straight to the heart. Gendry recognized it too. Qyburn had taught him about various poisons, and he identified it at a glance. Manticore venom could kill a man instantly, but Qyburn had added a clotting agent and treated it with dark magic. He intended to keep the Meereenese man lingering in terrible agony, then see whether he could be transformed into an undead warrior.
"Let me!" Gendry raised the spear and stabbed Bardak several times, swiftly and steadily, focusing on his heart and major arteries. Bardak gave several agonized cries, and the red blood flowing from him turned black. Grass died wherever it touched the blood. But after a few more cries, the Meereenese man died completely, his heart ceasing to beat.
"It failed! Is even a body this strong not enough?" Dejection crossed Qyburn's careworn old face. Gendry dropped the poisoned spear as well.
It still depends on the red comet. The tide of magic hasn't arrived yet, so it seems we can't create such powerful undead warriors, Gendry thought. The experiment had not failed because the specimen was unsuitable. Qyburn did not know the reason, but Gendry knew it was most likely because magical energy was too scarce. Only after the red comet appeared would there be a chance of creating such undead warriors.
"Dump this Fireweed!" Handsome Man ordered through gritted teeth. The slaves did not dare disobey. They untied the ropes and hauled three large crates off the cart.
The three large crates were dragged off the cart and dropped on the ground. Their lids opened, spilling the dry, rust-colored Fireweed, worth its weight in gold, into a great heap on the earth. Handsome Man displayed it to the brigand knights on the hill so they would know it was genuine.
"Here's my gift, Purplebeard! For you, for all of you!" Handsome Man went to the rear of the column and shouted up at Purplebeard on the little hill. "If we fight to the death, you won't get a scrap of this Fireweed. I'll burn it all. You'll be left with nothing. The only thing you'll get is death!"
Purplebeard stood silently on the hill. "These stubborn northerners!"
"Going back to Myr means death for you too. Why not head to Crown Town with me? With this Fireweed, raising another sellsword company wouldn't be hard!" Purplebeard shouted.
"Thank you for the offer, but the Wolf Pack never forgets!" Handsome Man shouted, then ordered the slaves to keep moving.
Purplebeard's company remained still. Only after the Wolf Pack Company had gone far into the distance did he order his men to gather up the crates of Fireweed.
"Chief! Are we just letting them go? What about Torello's orders?" one of Purplebeard's men asked.
"Torello? What Torello? Those two Meereenese he sent were fucking brutes. What good were they? Take this Fireweed, and we'll still make a fortune!" Purplebeard sneered. "Everyone knows I'm a brigand sellsword. Why should a brigand sellsword be so faithful to his word?"
"But what if Torello blames us?"
"Blames us for what? This wretched job cost me so many good men. Was that paltry fee enough? Let those Myrmen fight among themselves. This Fireweed will pay for all the men and horses we need."
Along the coast, Handsome Man spotted a broad-bellied Myrish cargo ship, the Mead.
Handsome Man was puzzled at first, since it was not the pirate king's flagship, but he soon spotted the Lyseni.
"I thought you weren't coming!" Salladhor Saan, the Lyseni pirate, appeared on deck beside two elderly Unsullied eunuchs. He was a smooth-tongued man, famous for his extravagant clothing. He wore a gleaming coat woven with silver thread, its hanging sleeves trailing to the ground, with buttons carved from jade in the shape of monkeys. A handsome, fan-shaped green hat adorned with peacock feathers sat atop his fine, bright white curls.
Handsome Man led the company aboard, and Gendry studied Salladhor with interest. Salladhor was a descendant of the famous pirate family, the Saan family, as well as a Lyseni pirate and sellsail captain. He was also a friend of Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight. He wore many hats: smuggler, merchant, banker, and notorious pirate.
The old pirate embraced Handsome Man, then kissed both his cheeks. "And a wound on your face, too. The Handsome Man I know isn't in his grave yet, but I've never seen him looking so bedraggled. But where's Greybeard? I'm afraid he's become a ghost."
Handsome Man answered gloomily, "Greybeard is still in Myr. You must have heard about the situation. Things there are in chaos. We don't even know whether our commander is alive or dead."
"Oh, is there a gift for me too?" Handsome Man presented the old pirate with a spear, the Meereenese gladiator's weapon.
"We ran into some trouble, including two Meereenese gladiators. There are probably even more of them in Myr. They're crude and savage, but skilled at assassination."
"Meereenese, those brutish fellows. It seems Governor Cassor's good friends are quite happy to spend their money!" Salladhor smiled.
"A new ship?" Handsome Man asked. This was not the Lyseni pirate's flagship, the Valyrian, but an ordinary-looking Myrish merchant ship.
"I have twenty or thirty ships, and plenty of friends, old friend. Borrowing a ship is easy enough. One of my own would be far too conspicuous."
"Have you taken up piracy again?"
"Don't put it so harshly. If someone owes me money and won't pay, I'm happy to seize his ship."
The old pirate then ordered his Unsullied eunuchs to count the Fireweed. He picked up a bundle and sniffed it. "Lovely. That ancient smell, a genuine Myrish specialty. Governor Cassor could have made a fortune this year. Unfortunately for him, someone has their eye on his seat."
"Count them, lads! The Wolf Pack Company may be old friends of mine, but I'm still taking a tenth." The old pirate put an arm around Handsome Man's shoulders.
"Bring my friends some hot wine! My old friend Handsome Man is coming to my captain's cabin," the old pirate ordered. "You can add some white cheese and strips of beef."
"And who's this?" The old pirate noticed Handsome Man signaling for Gendry to follow, a tall warrior with short black hair and an iron mask.
"Little Jendry Iron Hammer, our company's new hero. His courage and strength surpass mine!" Handsome Man introduced him.
"I'm honored to meet a new hero!" The old pirate's eyes lit up, and he shook Gendry's hand.
"You'll have to bear with the wine! The wines from Pentos and Myr aren't particularly fine, nor do they fetch a good price!"
Handsome Man raised his cup. "Even so, this cup of wine tastes wonderful."
"Does the boy not like drinking?" the old pirate asked. Gendry stood like an iron wall beside Handsome Man.
"He's very shy, but ferocious on the battlefield. He bludgeoned two Meereenese to death."
"Remarkable!" The old pirate gave him a thumbs-up. Handsome Man rarely praised a young man unless he truly was that fierce.
"My old friend, I really think selling your sword is a dangerous game. Men with a conscience don't live long. Why not come work for me? I have plenty of ships, but not enough capable men. At night, someone can slip a ship into Braavos, Myr, or Volantis. You can guard my ships. I trust your honesty and your skills. Then we slip back out with spices and silk, with no one the wiser. We'll all get rich."
"Thank you for the offer, old friend, and for your generosity, but our work as sellswords isn't finished! We don't know whether Greybeard is alive or dead. We have to bring him back, and deliver these supplies to Myr."
"Ah, you always think you've climbed up in the world. Personally, I think pirates have more freedom. I'm always trying to persuade the Onion Knight too, but he seems to have really taken to being a lord."
Chapter 28: The Wolf of Myr (please keep reading)
"My old friend, I'm giving you sincere advice. Don't go back to that accursed place, Myr! The waters there are too rough. You might drown. Take your Fireweed, and let Sara bring you and your men somewhere safer, an island or one of Lys's dependencies, where you can join in the fun! The price of Fireweed is high this year. This will be enough to make you a fortune!" the old pirate urged.
"Thank you for your kindness, Sara!" Handsome Man smiled. "You love your purse. As for me, I still love my oath. Besides, Greybeard is your friend too!"
"Greybeard? You were just a servant when I first met him. But that's no use, old friend. I can't stand by and watch you march to your death. The situation in Myr is murky. Governor Cassor will most likely suffer a crushing defeat this time!" The old pirate poured himself a cup of wine too.
"I'll be fine! I'm going to Myr!"
"Very good. I like that stubbornness of you northerners. You're not like the people of the Free Cities. But you can't stay stubborn forever!"
"Could you wait for us along the coast? If things don't work out in Myr, we'll still need to escape!"
"Then your faithful Sara will need another payment. Just a little fee. I want another tenth of the Fireweed!"
"Agreed!" Handsome Man gritted his teeth.
"Good, then. But I won't wait very long. We'll reach Myr later tonight. I can't linger too long and risk exposing my smuggling ship. Waiting until the next morning would be dangerous."
"Good luck, my old friend!" Salladhor told Handsome Man.
Under cover of deep darkness, the Mead Ship slipped quietly into a bay on the Myrish coast, not far from the city. The bay was unremarkable. What mattered was the secret tunnel smugglers had dug behind a rocky hill there, leading straight into Myr. Many smugglers arranged for small boats under cover of darkness, then crossed low or crumbled stretches of the city wall to conduct their business. The old Lyseni pirate had more sophisticated methods: he had even dug a tunnel.
Handsome Man took several dozen skilled men with him, including Dick the Bowmaker, Long Spear, and Gendry. The others stayed aboard the old pirate's ship. If the party failed to return, the old pirate would take them somewhere safe.
"You two don't have to come!" Handsome Man urged. Dick the Bowmaker and Gendry: one was too old, the other too young.
"My soul died more than a decade ago, killed by the Sword of the Morning and the White Bull! I died that day, the day the Kingswood Brotherhood was wiped out in the Kingswood. I regret not being there. It's made me feel like a coward ever since! The Seven have already given me all these extra years. I'm satisfied!" The Arrow Maker waved his great yew bow and laughed.
"The company needs a young man!" Gendry raised the mace in his hand. The Lion had cut Handsome Man's face. For sheer weight and force, they still needed Gendry's warhammer.
"Keep your eyes sharp, boy!" Dick the Bowmaker warned Gendry. "I've taught you everything I can. I don't want a promising lad dying so young!"
"Myr is divided into an inner city and an outer city. The outer city is a slum, where the poor live. The inner city is where the governors and dignitaries reside. Governor Cassor's home, and even those of his enemies, should be estates in the inner city. The outer city's defenses are lax, but the inner city is heavily guarded. It'll be hard for us to break through," Handsome Man explained.
Holding a torch, Handsome Man led the assault party through the low tunnel, which was barely wide enough for two men abreast. For anyone too tall or too fat, walking through the smugglers' tunnel was torture. Naturally, getting horses through a passage like this would be difficult too. Delivering the Fireweed mattered, but more important was the situation in Myr, and whether it was truly beyond saving.
Gendry carried two weapons on his back: an Arakh and his own mace. Over his Black Scale Armor, he wore another layer in the form of an embroidered outer cloak, to better protect him against arrows.
In a corner of an alley in Myr's outer city, Handsome Man, Gendry, and the others finally emerged into the light again. They lifted a section of paving in a dead-end alley and climbed out.
"Cassor, the public enemy!" "Cassor, the public enemy!"
"Cassor is dead!" "Cassor is dead!" Myr had already descended into uproar and turmoil. Governor Cassor had fallen. House Kasso's wealth and status had vanished in an instant. Carrying torches, the Myr City Watch moved throughout the city, busily confiscating House Kasso's property: all its goods, docks, warehouses, and slaves. When a governor fell, the victors devoured his corpse like jackals.
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