The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The sound of horses' hooves echoed as a cavalry unit arrived at the harbor dock.

Leading the group in his brocade attire was none other than the magister Kerk of Balaq al-Awra Street, flanked by Cristen and Akheer on either side.

Behind them were mercenaries sporting bronze-spiked helmets, followed by a train of horse-drawn carriages.

The three magisters went directly to the temporary Clegane Bank—two carriages holding royal bureaucrats, Missandei, court maids, General Missandei, and twenty fully armed Unsullied soldiers.

“Missandei, we're here to exchange paper currency,” Magister Kerk said with a wide smile, as if he and Missandei were long-lost friends.

Missandei remained expressionless, all business.

The exchange went smoothly.

The magisters and their families had already been thoroughly drilled on the origins, benefits, face value, and exchange methods of Clegane banknotes, thanks to the Mountain's administrative orders. This public service announcement took the Mountain and Daenerys a month. While having all the city's residents sign oaths, the Mountain and Daenerys also ordered the magisters to memorize all relevant knowledge about Clegane banknotes and conducted spot checks.

The three magisters exchanged for the full amount in gold and silver, as if they had never opposed the promotion of Clegane banknotes.

They brought their mercenary guards to prevent attacks from overzealous Sons of the Harpy. They themselves also had Sons of the Harpy warriors, but the city's Sons of the Harpy warriors were divided into several organizations, each led by a different magister.

Although the three magisters, including Kerk, chose to exchange banknotes to protect their trade wealth and social status, they did not intend to betray the Sons of the Harpy or the Magister Alliance, and they would not sell out other magisters and Sons of the Harpy to the Mountain. As long as they were not attacked, they would remain silent. However, just in case, they brought enough mercenaries with them.

After exchanging the banknotes, Kerk led his guards and carriage train to the docks where Hyman and Elaine's fleet was berthed. There were dozens of docks in the harbor for mooring ships.

Kerk arrived below Hyman's flagship.

“Captain Hyman, Kerk is here to pay a visit,” Kerk called out politely.

On the deck, sailors looked down, and mercenaries drank at the bow of the ship.

“Magister Kerk, Lord Hyman is not on board,” a sailor shouted down.

“What about Captain Elaine?”

“Captain Elaine is not here either.”

“Where did they go?”

“They went to the city, probably to Her Majesty's pyramid palace.”

Kerk turned back to look at Cristen and Akheer, and the three exchanged glances. Kerk said, “Knight, lower the rope ladder. We're here to trade goods.”

“I'm sorry, Magister, the goods on the ship have already been purchased, and they will soon send people to unload the goods and transport them into the city.”

“No, no, no. The goods are all ours. We paid a deposit.”

“Magister, Captain Hyman said the deposit has been returned to you.”

“That's not important. We are long-term partners, and that will never change. Moreover, we brought Clegane Bank banknotes. We'll use banknotes for the transaction, and you don't need to lower the price or give us a discount.”

“Magister, you may have to wait on the ship for a while. We'll go to Her Majesty's palace to ask Captain Hyman and Captain Elaine for instructions. The two captains are not here, so we can't make the decision.”

“Okay, lower the rope ladder first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kerk turned to Cristen and Akheer and said, “We've already exchanged the banknotes. If we don't even get the goods, we'll become the laughingstock of the whole city. Those magisters will also mock us. My idea is, once we're on the ship, we'll unload the goods and forcibly load them onto the carriages, and then pay the full amount. Even if Hyman and Elaine come back, we'll have already taken the goods and left the money, so they'll have to accept it. As for those small magisters and small merchants, they won't dare to do anything to us.”

“Good idea,” Cristen said.

“Shall we do it?” Akheer said.

Cristen and Akheer didn't take the small merchants and small magisters in the city seriously. The rope ladder was lowered, and Kerk gestured for his mercenary captain to go up first. Soldiers would go up first, then take the mercenaries on the ship by surprise, set up a long bridge, and then the porters could transport the goods from the ship first, load them onto the carriages, and pull them into the city.

*

Pyramid Palace.

The black dragon and the white dragon soared around the palace. The dragon sheep thief was high in the sky, like a golden-red cloud, hovering motionless, seemingly completely still.

Inside the palace, the two captains were sitting at a long table with the Mountain, Daenerys, Arianne, Jorah Mormont, Grey Worm, Lady Emily, Scholar Claude, and others, enjoying a feast. The long table was piled high with all kinds of freshly washed fruits, heart-shaped plates were filled with various snacks, the aroma of wine filled the air, golden roasted suckling pig, steaming bacon soup, various smoked meats, boiled bear legs… the fragrance of vegetables, the fragrance of fruits, the aroma of various meats, mixed with the aroma of wine, wafted through the huge dining room.

There were clowns performing slapstick in front of the dining table. Wandering singers sat on the floor, playing harps and singing joyful songs.

*

The Mountain raised his glass: “Captain Hyman, Captain Elaine, please accept my toast.”

Hyman and Elaine were immediately shocked and apprehensive, and hurriedly left their seats and knelt down: “Your Majesty, how dare we accept your toast? Please take back your words. We are just ordinary captains, how can we bear the toast of Your Majesty.”

“Rise, I grant you innocence.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hyman, Elaine, are you nobles?”

Hyman and Elaine looked at each other, and Elaine's face turned red: “Your Majesty, we are not yet nobles, but doing business outside, we are looked down upon by many people if we are not nobles, so we have mercenaries and sailors call us lords outside. If no one asks about our identity, we will muddle through. If someone asks, we will bite the bullet and say that we are nobles.”

“You have made great contributions this time by reducing the price of goods by half to facilitate the exchange of banknotes. You have gained my friendship.” The Mountain raised his glass, “Cheers.”

Hyman and Elaine quickly raised their large glasses, filled them with wine, and drank the wine together in gulps. The golden-yellow wine overflowed from the corners of their mouths, flowed over their chins, and dripped onto their chests.

“Your Majesty, without your help in persuading small merchants and small magisters to conduct trade in goods and ensuring their safety and the normal sale of goods, our price reduction by half may not work.” Captain Elaine said.

The Mountain laughed loudly: “Captain Elaine, you are very eloquent. I like it, kneel down.”

Captain Elaine was slightly stunned, then put down his glass and knelt down honestly.

“Bring the sword.” The Mountain said to Grey Worm.

Grey Worm went to the wall and took down the Mountain's ice giant sword with both hands.

Daenerys and Arianne on either side of the Mountain were both smiling as they watched the Mountain. The beauty of the two women was completely different, but they were both stunning and charming.

Clang!

The Mountain drew out the ice giant sword. The sword was extremely sharp, and the cold light on the blade was like a living thing, flowing on the blade.

The Mountain's giant sword tapped on Elaine's head: “In the name of the Red God, in the name of the Blood God, in the name of the God of Death and the Thousand-Faced God, in the name of the Harpy, in the name of the Sky God, the Earth God, and the Ocean God, I, Gregor of House Clegane from Westeros, Duke of Dragonstone, Protector of the Realm, Dragon Knight, Master of War, King of the Crab Claw Peninsula, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Ruler of the Nine Free Trade City-States, Conqueror of Essos, hereby grant Elaine Clegane the title of Baron, hereditary.”

Elaine was speechless and couldn't believe this was true.

The Mountain's giant sword tapped lightly on Elaine's left and right shoulders: “Rise, Baron.”

Elaine was still in a daze. Captain Hyman shouted, “Hurry up and thank him and swear allegiance, you big fool.”

Elaine was so excited that he was incoherent, and hurriedly stammered to swear allegiance to the Mountain.

The Mountain said, “Baron Elaine, after returning to the Three Sisters Islands, your lord will receive an administrative order issued from the palace. You will receive a fiefdom on Sweet Sister Island where you live.”

Elaine was so excited that he almost fainted.

The fiefdom was not the most important thing to him, the most important thing was his noble status.

No matter how rich captains and giant merchants are, if they are not nobles, they will be inferior and looked down upon by nobles. In the past, the Mountain's mother-in-law was the daughter of a spice merchant, which resulted in the great lady Jeyne Westerling having difficulty marrying into a great noble family, and being rejected by nobles became the norm. Because she was not a noble, Tywin Lannister refused to let the Mountain's mother-in-law attend his daughter's wedding at Casterly Rock. Those noble ladies and gentlewomen were ashamed to sit with Jeyne's mother.

Captain Elaine was suddenly granted the title of Baron by the Mountain and obtained the surname of the King. This was a great event for him to honor his ancestors. The same Baron, being personally granted by the King and being granted by the Lord, is a completely different honor.

After Elaine Clegane got up, he was still dizzy. He staggered back to his seat, feeling like he was stepping on clouds.

The Mountain looked at Captain Hyman: “Hyman, kneel down.”

Ecstasy suddenly seized Hyman's heart.

Hyman knelt down with a thud, looked up at the Mountain, his eyes shining. From now on, even if he had to die for the Mountain, he would never hesitate in the slightest.

The Mountain began to chant the long title and the names of the gods. Finally, he announced that Hyman Clegane was granted the title of Baron and promised that after returning to Westeros, he would seal a territory for Hyman in Gulltown. Hyman put his hands on his left chest and swore solemnly, vowing to sacrifice his life to be loyal to His Majesty the King and to defend His Majesty the King's glory at all costs under any circumstances.

Daenerys raised her glass and said with a smile, “Your Majesty, congratulations to the Clegane family for adding two more captains.”

Everyone congratulated His Majesty the King and also blessed the two adults, Hyman and Elaine, for having the honor of becoming members of the royal family. In the palace restaurant, the maids also joined in the dance, the wandering singers played the harp more vigorously, the clowns were working hard to be funny, and the slapstick actors began to perform jaw-dropping magic tricks.

An Unsullied soldier entered and reported the situation at the port to General Ian at the gate. General Ian entered, knelt on one knee, and said, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen, something has happened at the port.”

The Mountain raised his hand, and the music and dance stopped together, and the slapstick actors also stopped their wonderful magic performance.

“What happened, General Ian?”

“The three great magisters of Balaq al-Awra exchanged banknotes at the harbor docks. They boarded the two captains' big ships, their soldiers subdued the mercenaries on the ship, and the workers brought by the magisters forcibly unloaded the goods from the ship and loaded them onto their carriages.”

The Mountain glanced at Grey Worm: “Grey Worm, go and bring the three magisters here. Anyone who dares to resist, cut off his head and bring it to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Grey Worm said coldly. He picked up his bronze helmet from the table and strode out.

Jorah Mormont got up and left his seat: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen, please allow me to go too.”

The Mountain looked at Jorah Mormont: “Jorah, don't you trust Grey Worm?”

“Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Queen has just ascended the throne of Astapor. The fact that the great Magister Kerk and others are willing to take the initiative to exchange banknotes and conduct transactions is a good change. I don't want Grey Worm to kill people, which will inspire the willingness of the magisters to change.”

“They forcibly traded goods, Jorah!” Arianne Martell said.

“But they also left the banknotes, which is excusable. We need to rule here for a long time. They have already seen our toughness and invincibility. Now is the time to show our magnanimity.”

Daenerys said, “Ser Jorah Mormont is right, go ahead, don't let Grey Worm kill anyone.”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Queen.”

Daenerys picked up a piece of smoked meat and placed it in front of the Mountain: “Your Majesty, you won't blame me and Jorah, will you?”

“Jorah is right, with him by your side, I feel more at ease.” The Mountain smiled, “Come, come, let's drink.”

So, everyone raised their glasses together.

Singers, dancers, clowns, and slapstick actors came out again to start performing wonderful programs.

*

Grey Worm and Jorah Mormont brought the three magisters into the palace and brought them to the Mountain and Daenerys and others.

“Do you know you were wrong?” The Mountain said lightly.

The three magisters had discussed a lot of rhetoric on the way, but as soon as they came into contact with the Mountain's gaze, all the wonderful rhetoric they had prepared disappeared unbelievably. The three people felt fear, cold sweat soaked their underwear, and the fear of death overflowed from the Mountain's eyebrows, eyes, corners of his mouth, and body. That kind of aura was substantial, and everyone could feel it.

Kerk mustered his courage and stammered: “...Great Your Majesty the King...the result of our bet has come out...you won...we lost...we are willing to admit defeat...we are convinced...”

“You dared to forcibly unload goods that did not belong to you at the port, and forcibly buy and sell. This is a great crime of contempt for the law.” The Mountain said lightly, “Either go back and hang yourselves, or give me a reason not to kill you.”