Chapter 11

The training was hard, each lesson began before dawn and ended late in the day. Cristoff rarely had time to himself. Each day he would free run across the rooftops of Qarth, learning the alleyways and shortcuts through the city. The markets were always full of people and noise and made good places to hide or lose pursuers. Alena was not his only teacher, the Sorrowful men had teachers of arms, which Cristoff would only see sparingly, and masters of each different element of stealth. Cristoff excelled at eavesdropping and pickpocketing. Some of the Sorrowful men had risen in the ranks enough to learn some of the more ancient techniques that were more than just sleight of hand, but that was all Cristoff overheard. At one point, it was rumoured that a queen of dragons had come to the gates of Qarth, and Xaro Xhoan Daxos bled for her to permit them entry, though few saw the fabled Mother of Dragons. Cristoff was asked to investigate as part of his training.

"We want you to find out what exactly her purpose is here. We had heard that she had indeed brought three dragons into the world through blood and fire, but we have little information beyond that." Alena told him. She said that he had a day to prepare before he set out the night after next. He donned his Assassin's hooded robes and climbed to the rooftops. Crossing the city had become easier now that he knew the layout of the rooftop, and he made the journey quickly. As he approached Xaro Xhoan Daxos' palatial home, he saw the merchant had a party for his guests. Cristoff lowered himself to the roof and sharpened his senses with a technique of the mind that Alena had taught him.

"If I cut off the head, it will be easier to carry"

Cristoff almost jumped at the Dothraki language being spoken in Qarth. He looked below him. There were some Dothraki with arakhs loitering around a gold statue. A silver haired girl was with them.

"No! We are guests here." He heard her reply. Could this be queen Daenerys? She looked like a Targaryen with her silver hair and violet eyes, Cristoff had little option. There were too many people for him to investigate now. He would have to come back late that night. Cristoff was about to leave, but something made him stay. As he looked around again, he saw a tall skinny man in a blue robe with blue lips hold out a crystal to Daenerys. Cristoff's gaze was held captive by the crystal, then all of a sudden, another man who looked identical to the first appeared out of nowhere.

"Sorcerers." Muttered Cristoff

The man looked up at Cristoff and smiled a ghastly smile; his blue lips making it look like it didn't belong on the face of a man. Then he disappeared. Cristoff finally got up and left.

"What did you see?" asked Alena

"I saw a tall bald man with blue lips conjure another of himself, I saw two Dothraki attempt to steal a gold statue, and I saw a Targaryen." Replied Cristoff

"And what did you learn from this?"

"I saw the man was a sorcerer, a true sorcerer, perhaps Pyat Pree; if what I was told about the Undying was true. The Targaryen must have been Daenerys, all the others were killed. The Dothraki must have come with Daenerys; they wouldn't have been let into the city otherwise."

"Good, when you learn more tonight, be careful. Wear the mask that hides your face, you cannot risk being seen. If the Undying are involved here, things could very easily go sour."

Cristoff infiltrated Xaro Xhoan Daxos' home once again, this time under the cover of darkness. His household guards patrolled the grounds with torches, so it was only night above the ground.

Cristoff had been given a vial of a special poison that would cause the victim to hallucinate and attack those around them before dying. His hidden blade had been modified to have a hollow needle to pierce the skin to insert the poison, it would only require a prick for it to work.

"If I kill them all they will know something happened, and it would be almost impossible anyway." Whispered Cristoff to himself, "I must do this without any witnesses."

He descended the wall and landed on a guard relieving himself in the garden. His blade pierced his heart and he died in silence. The bush was large enough to hide them both within its leaves. Cristoff dragged the legs under the bush and snuffed the torch. He crept along the darkened wall, timing his approach to avoid being close to any other guards. Reaching a set of stairs, he made his way up to Daenerys's bedchamber. She lay by her bed, still and unmoving, her chest slowly rising and falling. Her handmaids were nearby, also asleep. It was rumoured that a bear-man was traveling with her, a knight of Westeros. He was nowhere to be seen, and that worried Cristoff. The last thing he wanted right now was to be surprised. He backed into the shadows as he heard footsteps behind him. The bear-man walked past, his massive build obvious under his loose tunic. Cristoff could make out his grizzled features in the moonlight, but the man never turned around. He knelt by Daenerys' bed and stroked her cheek gently. She stirred slightly and he got up and left.

Cristoff looked around for the fabled dragons. Sure enough, the two Dothraki bloodriders were standing guard over the three cages. The dragons were sleeping peacefully, but one, the largest one, woke and hissed at Cristoff, hiding in the shadows. Cristoff cursed silently and slunk away.

"I have everything I need. I should get back before I am discovered." He thought