This chapter contains a small lemon.

The Chronicles of Valyria,

Book 1 Resurrection

Chapter 34

The march to Yunkai was long, and hard for those not used to marching in these temperatures. A surprising discovery though, was that those wearing the rune-engraved Valyrian Steel armor were not bothered by the heat, nor did the, lighter than normal steel, wear them down nearly as much as one would have expected from full heavy plate. A study of the runes by Francine, using a very old and according to her, very boring book she had borrowed from Boltrock before they left, revealed that the runes were in fact spells meant to aid the wearer of the armor. Protecting them from the influences of the environment they found themselves in and stopping the armor from wearing them out.

Utilizing this knowledge Aurora had quickly ordered the runes to be inscribed on every suit of armor that did not already carry them. It required Aurora, Gabrielle, Francine, or Ivan to 'empower' the runes after they were inscribed by activating them with a drop of their blood, but that was a small price to pay for the benefits it offered to their soldiers.

In the end it delayed their arrival in Yunkai by a full week, but they were well supplied, and the extra time allowed them to 'liberate' almost two dozen coastal towns and villages. They send another fifteen-thousand liberated slaves and man, women and children back to Valyria, while adding some eight hundred men to the ranks of the Forlorn.

XXX

By the time they were only a day from Yunkai, their scouts had reported that the city was ready for them. Two sellsword companies had been hired, adding more seasoned defenders to the city's garrison which they already estimated to be some 20,000 soldiers. More worrying than the garrison though, was that unlike with Astapor the walls of Yunkai were intact and now that they were manned properly, they would no doubt prove a challenge to most hostile armies. But the Valyrians were not most armies and Aurora and Gabrielle had no intention of having their men storm the well defended walls, which would inflict horrendous casualties to their forces.

When they made camp that night, Aurora and Gabrielle summoned their war council to discuss their plans for taking the city. "There are two sellsword companies in Yunkai," Valaya reported, as head of the scouts during the campaign, she had spent most of the march from Astapor riding between a small scout camp near Yunkai and the main army.

"We have seen two different banners on the walls, one of a harpy holding a baby, and the other of a ruined tower." Everyone looked towards Harry and Tatters for some explanation as they were considered the local experts on the subject of sellswords.

"That first one is the Harpy's Bastards, while the second is from the Sons of Ghiscar. Both are made up of locals, so I do not think that there is a big chance we'll be able to buy off their contract. Also, we are coming to destroy their very culture, so they won't join us… at least not voluntarily." That last part he added with a look at the entrance where four Forlorn stood guard.

"Hmm," Francine mused softly before asking, "How many soldiers do they have combined?"

"Between four- and five-thousand," came the reply from Tatters. "Mostly lock-step infantry, a few dozen light cavalry and maybe two-hundred archers." Another silence fell around the table for a few minutes as they all thought about the issue.

"So, we'll have to either lure them out of the city and then surround them, or we must crush them on the walls." Gabrielle muttered to sum it up.

"If we muster our army before the gates and then offer them free passage to leave the city, do you think they will accept?" Ivan asked with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Possibly," Tatters replied. "if their commanders haven't changed. Last time I heard about them they were both led by rather self-serving individuals. If we give them the chance to run with their hide intact, they might take it if the other option is annihilation."

"Very well," Aurora said after a few minutes of further deliberation. "I'll send a few envoys ahead to offer them terms of surrender." Turning towards Ivan and Francine who sat next to her she added, "Gather the cavalry and 6,000 Unsullied. March ahead through the night and lay an ambush for them if they decide to abandon the city. They either surrender or they die, but no one get's away alive. We cannot risk them fleeing this battle only to reinforce the armies of Mereen, that will be a tough enough battle as it is, we don't have to send them any more soldiers."

"Of course," Ivan nodded immediately while Harry, Tatters and Oberyn looked a little surprised.

"Why offer them free passage if you're just going to ambush them later on?" Oberyn questioned a little angrily. "Where is the honor in that?"

He was met with five incredulous looks and a tense silence that lasted for nearly a minute before it was broken by Aurora, who spoke with a scowl. "Seriously Oberyn, you talk about honor. I heard what happened with Edgar Yronwood, where was the honor with that."

This effectively shut his objections and Aurora continued on a firm tone, "Let me explain a few things about my views on honor. Honor is all nice and good in times of peace, or when the nobles in Westeros play at war in tournaments and melees. But when you are in a real war, on a real field of battle, ploughing through rivers of blood, mud, and piles of corpses, there is no place for honor in your mind. Honor is nothing but an excuse for knights to act like animals during a tourney. For most men, honor is an easy way to get yourself killed if you are unprepared."

Ivan took the word next and said, "Why do you think that the pit-fighters are such fearsome combatants? They fight for only one thing, and that is to walk out of that arena, instead of being dragged. A man that fights for his life, will fight much harder than a man fighting for honor or gold. In the pits of Mereen I have fought and killed good men who's only fault lay in being born or captured as a slave. Do you think they fought for the honor of their masters? Hell no, they fought to survive."

This two-way tirade drove home the point of how their new commanders thought about honor, so no further objections were made against the plan.

During all this Argyll had been watching most closely as he was trying to create for himself an overview of the character of each of the members of the military council he had met so far. It wasn't an easy task, as some of them like Oberyn where so different from one moment to the next, that you would almost think they were two different people.

His own position as Lord General, meant that the only ones he had to listen to were the Ladies and Ivan, but he still made an effort to make the others feel as if they were taken serious. During the first week he had spoken extensively with all three and found that they all had some things in common, making it easy to talk with them and to devise battle plans and strategies.

"I will lead the Unsullied in the ambush," He finally spoke up after the others had said their piece. "I have been working on some new battle lines and marching formations with them and I want to test them out in a somewhat controlled combat scenario, with your permission." That last part he added mostly out of courtesy as the Unsullied were all under his command, so he could do as he pleased were they were concerned.

"Very good," Ivan nodded in agreement. "If you have them form up in formation to draw their attention and block their route to Mereen, then I'll take the cavalry and hit them from the rear. We'll take them between hammer and anvil and give them the choice of whether the hammer will fall or not. The Amazons will take up positions on your sides, to make sure they don't strong-arm their way into your flanks."

Argyll nodded in understanding and Ivan looked up at the position of the sun before adding, "It is now around 18:00, so have your men rest up and make sure they eat, we leave at midnight. With some luck we can pull a full night march and take up positions around the main road between Yunkai and Mereen, before the sun rises and we risk them noticing us marching past."

Everyone accepted this plan and the meeting was closed with everyone going to their assigned duties.

At midnight, a long column of Unsullied, mounted Forlorn and Amazons left the main bulk of the army. They marched quickly but silently and just before the rising sun crept over the horizon, they arrived at a suitable spot to lay their ambush. As their soldiers took up their positions, Ivan, Francine and Argyll sat atop their mounts and watched out over the Yellow walls of Yunkai.

About an hour before noon, the blaring of copper trumpets could be heard from the distance and they all knew what it meant, the Ladies had arrived at the city. Soon they would find out whether their plan would unfold as planned.

XXX

At daybreak, the morning after Ivan and his forces had marched off, Aurora sent four Forlorn to accompany the knight who had volunteered to be their messenger, a certain Aron Santagar. In a leather satchel Ser Aron had three sealed letters, one for the Wise Masters of Yunkai, and one each for the commanders of the two sellsword companies.

After wishing him luck, the military council watched him leave before beginning the task of organizing their men for the final few miles that separated them from the Yellow City. Considering that most of the army was made up of Forlorn and Unsullied, this was an easy task and took far less time than one would expect for an army of that size.

The road was wide and well maintained, so the soldiers marched over it in their companies, ten abreast and fifteen rows per company. The Forlorn were the first to march off, with two thousand Unsullied on both flanks to prevent the main column from being ambushed, and the rest of the Unsullied behind them. The sellswords under Harry and Tatters marched after the Unsullied and the Dornish made up the rear. The Dornish were essentially civilian volunteers, this was only their first campaign, and the loses they had taken at Tyrosh had made Aurora and Gabrielle wary of exposing them to much before they could receive proper training.

Roughly an hour before noon, the vanguard reached the open plain before Yunkai's gates and the army took up their battle lines. With the same formation as they had marched in, the Forlorn on the front lines, the sellswords in the middle, Unsullied on the flanks and the Dornish in reserve.

They didn't have to wait long for a reply, as before the army had fully formed up, the gates opened and under a white banner, the Harpy's Bastards and the Sons of Ghiscar began their exodus, under the dismaying cries of the garrison and the people of the city.

Some 4,800 sellswords marched out of the city, their weapons stowed away, and the sand-colored cloaks drawn closed around their leather armor with bronze discs. A few dozen horsemen accompanied them, probably the commanders and their closest officers. A train of overburdened mules and donkeys was brought along, each packed with large bags and baskets.

After the sellswords had all moved off in the direction of Mereen, right in the path of where Ivan's forces were now laying in ambush, Ser Aron returned, with his four guards and a delegation from the Wise Masters.

The delegate from Yunkai was introduced as Gorzhak mo Eraz, a young noble whose father, according to himself, held great influence within the Wise Masters.

"Greetings," he said politely as he made a bow to Aurora and Gabrielle who waited at the head of the army, sat on two massive black destriers, with a guard of Forlorn around them. "I have been sent by the Wise Masters of Yunkai to present you with a gift. He motioned with his arms to a group of people who had followed him.

Eight large Summer Islanders stepped forward, each with oiled bodies and dressed only in white loincloths, who carried four large iron-bound chests. They placed the chests before Aurora and Gabrielle and opened them, revealing a glimmer of gold and jewels, gemstones and delicate silverwork. As the Summer Islanders stepped back, a second group stepped forward.

This group was made up of ten girls and young women, between 14 and 18 name days old, and four boys, around 16 in age. The boys were dressed in linen, yellow and red in color, and wore make-up to make them look more appealing, at least that was what they thought the purpose of it was.

The girls were all dressed in nearly transparent silk skirts that left very little to the imagination, and short silk vests, which barely covered their nipples, leaving everything in between on display. Their hair ranged from Dornish black to Valyrian silver, and despite their disgust at the offer, neither of the Ladies could deny that they looked very appealing.

"A humble gift for you, from the Wise Masters of the great city of Yunkai," Gorzhak continued, "I guarantee you that the boys are well endowed and well trained to satisfy every need. Each of the girls has mastered the way of the seven sighs, and the sixteen seats of pleasure, so I'm sure you and your commanders will be very pleased by what they can do."

With an expectant look on his face, Gorzhak looked at the helmet slits to catch a glimpse of the faces of the two mysterious figures. When finally, the helmets were removed, he was shocked by the long silken hair and elegant faces that looked at him with an expression of utter disgust and loathing.

"Seize him," Aurora said coldly and the four Forlorn who had accompanied Ser Aron, sprung into action and had Gorzhak on his knees with a sword at his throat before he could even blink. The few young nobles Gorzhak had brought to guard him were kept at bay by a thicket of spears and swords that surrounded them.

Looking behind them, to the rear of the army, she allowed a small grin to cross her face as she saw the few trebuchets they had brought by ship from Astapor. Grabbing the small black horn from her belt, she blew a signal and the mules pulling the catapults were immediately prodded by their handlers to quickly move them to the front of the army.

Once they had arrived, Gorzhak and each of his six guards were bound hands and feet in a fetal position. Next the 'improvised ammunition' was placed into the chain nets on the trebuchets' throwing arms.

Snapping her fingers, a Forlorn hurried towards her with a writing set followed by a second who carried a Dragonbone bow and a quiver of arrows. She quickly wrote a note, stating that they had five minutes to surrender and open the gates. If they refused, then Gorzhak and his fellows would be the first to die. She handed the writing set back to the Forlorn that had carried it, and then tied the note around an arrow, which was held up by the second Forlorn.

Taking a hold of the bow as well, she gave her horse the spurs until she was within 300 yards of the walls. Knocking the arrow, she took careful aim and then let go. She followed the arrow with her eyes until it embedded itself into the chest of a dark-skinned man dressed in a tokar. Turning around she silently began to count as her horse walked back to their own ranks.

For the first four minutes nothing happened, until a horn sounded on the walls, followed by a cloud of crossbow bolts that soared through the sky and landed some 300 yards before their frontline.

Grinning darkly at Gorzhak, Aurora said in bastard Valyrian, "It would seem your father does not care about you." Giving a second blast with the horn, the trebuchets were moved to just before the field of crossbow bolts that stuck from the ground. Once there, a Forlorn poured oil over the screaming young nobles.

At a nod from Aurora, the oil was ignited, and the trebuchets unleashed. Seven WHOOSH's sounded as the screaming and burning load was unleashed. One slammed into the gates, two flew over the walls, and the other four hit the walls, leaving bloody smears behind on the yellow brick.

Having already decided against a lengthy siege, Aurora ordered the trebuchets back to their rear lines while she and Gabrielle drove their horses back through their army until they were out of sight from the walls. there they handed their horses to two waiting Forlorn who quickly rode them away to not frighten the animals.

Turning into their dragon forms, Aurora and Gabrielle turned towards the city and took a short running start before unfolding their wings and flapping furiously to gain altitude. Once they were about a mile up, they circled over the city while they studied their defenses. It would appear that their estimate of 20,000 defenders was grossly overestimated, as barely 12,000 men manned the walls with spears, swords and crossbows.

Sharing a quick mid-flight 'lick', the two dragons split up, each flew to one end of the city, Aurora eastwards and Gabrielle westwards. As they flew they could see the battle going on at the other end of the city, it would appear that the sellswords had chosen to fight after all.

Once they were in position they both folded their wings and dove downward. Barely 300 yards above the ground they spread their wings and angled on a course to cover the walls. Trying to reconcile themselves with the fact that a part of the soldiers on the walls would be slaves, they opened their maws and bathed the many towers in a torrent of dragon fire.

They tried to spare the walls and the soldiers upon them, focusing on the heavy weapons, ballistae and catapults that could wreak havoc if used against their army. For the ordinary soldiers on the walls, both slaves and freemen, the walls of flames coming towards them was more than enough to make them panic and they fled from the walls in their hundreds. When they met in the middle, Gabrielle flew upwards while Aurora folded her wings and dropped down, crashing her massive body onto the gatehouse, and utterly destroyed it.

Swinging her tail and slashing with her claws, she demolished the defenses. Throwing massive blocks of stone around as if they were pebbles, she ignored the few crossbow bolts that ricocheted harmlessly off of her armored skin as she tore apart the remains of the gatehouse. The gates themselves, standing 30 feet high and made of ironwood, were reduced to mere kindling as she bathed them in red flames. Soon only rubble remained of the gatehouse, which was swiftly brushed aside by her tail as she made her way into the city.

XXX

Ivan had looked and waited impatiently for any sign of the sellswords, it had been agreed that he would wait until the dragons attacked. If the sellswords had not appeared by then he would mount an assault on the northern part of the city, trying to catch the defenders unawares. It was not necessary to storm the walls though, as shortly after the army arrived at noon, he spotted the first riders coming from the far side of the city walls. A large group of mainly infantry followed them and they made haste to get away from the city as fast as they could.

As hoped, they took the shortest way to Mereen, which just happens to be the road around which they had laid their ambush, so they walked straight into it.

Sitting atop Ironhide, Ivan waited patiently until the entire group had entered the stretch of road his forces had surrounded. As the last man entered, he snapped his fingers at a mounted Forlorn next to him who then waved a banner to signal that the trap was to be sprung now. When a banner waved back on the other side of the road, Ivan slowly raised his mace and besides him, three Forlorn raised large ox-horns to their mouths and blew a long low tone.

Some 2 miles ahead on the road, about 500 yards before the first shuffling and disheartened sellswords, two columns of Unsullied quickly marched up the road. They met in the middle and closed it off, while on both sides of the road triple lines of Unsullied sprung up from their hiding places amongst the shrubbery.

Panic quickly spread throughout the sellswords and the commanders rode through the front where they were met by Argyll mounted on his white destrier.

"What is the meaning of this," one of the commanders yelled in bastard Valyrian, outrage visible on his face. "We were promised safe passage from the city. Your commanders promised it."

"And you have been given safe passage from the city," Argyll replied calmly. "Nothing was said about what would happen after you left the city. Now lay down your weapons and surrender, or you will regret it." As he finished saying this the amazons rode into view, divided around both sides and on the road itself. All had arrows knocked and they drew back on the bowstrings.

It was clear that the sellswords were well trained, as at a signal from their commanders, they closed ranks, formed shield walls and made a reasonable attempt at creating turtle-formations of some 150 men each.

"Guess that's a no," Argyll muttered softly to himself before yelling, "FORMATIONS!" As one the Unsullied locked their own shields and shoved their spears outwards, forming an unbroken line around the enemy, three deep and two-thousand wide in a half ellipse shape.

At the same time Francine shouted, "LOOSE ARROWS," and all of the Amazons let their arrows fly. From all sides the arrows joined into a cloud that rained down on the sellsword formations. Most got stuck in the shields, but the use of round shields by the sellswords meant that there were holes, and plenty of arrows found their targets through those gaps. Cries of pain could be heard, and some gaps fell in the formations, though they were quickly closed up again.

Trying to stay in formation, the units of sellswords tried a retreat back to the city, only to find their way blocked. Ivan had moved his cavalry in to block off their escape while they were distracted by Argyll and Francine. He rode ahead of the lines of horses and armored men, approaching the quivering sellswords. As he was sitting on Ironhide, Ivan towered out over everyone and some of the sellswords were literally shaking as he approached them.

"LAST CHANCE," he roared, breaking the silence his approach had caused. "SURRENDER NOW… OR DIE." Raising his mace into the sky, he activated the mechanism to make the spikes jump out and gave it a few menacing test swings.

When silence remained, he growled at the sellswords beneath his helmets and roared again, "TIME'S UP." Kicking Ironhide in the sides, the Juggernaut started to run forward. The total weight of more than 11,000 pounds crashing down with each step shook the ground and the spears waiting to meet him started to shake.

"ROOOOAAAAAAAHHHHRRR!" He yelled as Ironhide crashed into the shield wall of the nearest unit, ignoring the spears that bounced harmlessly from his armor. The massive juggernaut smashed through, trampling sellswords as he went, gouging through bronze sewn leather tunics left and right with his horns. Meanwhile Ivan swung his mace left and right, the spiked head tearing open skulls or simply sending them flying. Each swing killed multiple sellswords and for the first time ever, the Demon of Valyria was unleashed in a real battle.

Close on his heels, the Forlorn smashed through the gap he had struck, riding down the ones he could not reach or who had started to flee. With brutal efficiency, the Forlorn hacked and smashed left and right with swords, maces and axes. The 're-programming' by Aurora and Gabrielle had given them an extensive knowledge about what were killing blows, so none were left behind alive.

The first turtle formation was gone in less than two minutes, leaving 150 mangled corpses behind, and Ironhide barreled on towards the next one, the Forlorn hot on his flanks. The next three companies went the exact same way, Ironhide smashed into their frontlines, breaking open the shield walls and crushing men as he went on. The Forlorn finished off what he and Ivan left behind, hunting down fleeing men and trampling the wounded beneath their horses.

By the time they reached the fifth company, panic had spread throughout the sellsword ranks. Men were fleeing everywhere now, throwing themselves against the Unsullied lines, which threw them back and slaughtered them. As the cavalry drove them into Unsullied's spears, Francine's amazons kept raining down arrows upon the sellswords, slaughtering scores of them with black-feathered death.

As Argyll looked at the slaughter going on, he watched in satisfaction at the systematic stabbing of the Unsullied spears, the continued rain of arrows, and the unstoppable charge of a completely fearless cavalry attack. 'This'… he thought grimly to himself, 'This is not war, this is organized slaughter." If the ladies and their two friends could turn a bunch of slaves, pirates, and misfits into such formidable ranks of soldiers in only a few months, he could not wait to see the army they could build when they finally had the time to do so.

The massacre lasted barely half an hour, leaving a field of corpses and slain pack-animals. When the butcher's bill was made up, it was pleasingly small. Thirty-seven Forlorn, eighty-three horses, and sixteen Unsullied. They plundered the dead of all possessions, food, money, metal, meat, everything they could use was stripped away before they piled the corpses and set them aflame. When that was done with, they turned their gaze towards the city, where thick smoke clouds were already drifting above the walls.

XXX

As Aurora moved into the city, her massive tail cleared away the rubble, leaving the way open for the tens-of-thousands who had began storming towards the city when she had dropped on the gatehouse. As the army streamed into the city, the sack went much smoother than it had been in Astapor. It took them only till nightfall to get complete control of the city, and to start the process of seeking out the slavers and bringing them into the ranks of the Forlorn.

They stayed in Yunkai for three weeks, waiting only for their fleet to return from Valyria so the liberated slaves and free citizens could be loaded up and brought to their new homeland. More than two-hundred-thousand slaves were set free, including nearly four thousand from Kayakayanaya. Fifty-thousand free men who lost their homes went with them, men, women and children.

Near ten-thousand men were added to the ranks of the Forlorn, while 300 ships were confiscated and joined to their fleet. Using the stacks of armor that filled the hulls of their fleet upon its return, they outfitted the ten-thousand in Valyrian armor. The horse armors that had also been brought were used to armor their cavalry, now having grown to some eight-thousand melee cavalry in addition to the fifteen hundred mounted archers.

With the city cleared of humans, animals, valuables and every useful thing they could find, Aurora and Gabrielle flew up once more to burn it to the ground. The liberated slaves and free men looked on in awe as the two massive creatures of legend torched their great city until the walls and pyramids melted and crashed under their weight when the wooden beams keeping them together turned to ashes.

With the smoke clouds from Yunkai rising into the sky, the Valyrians mustered their armies and prepared for the last leg of their journey, Mereen. The scouts they had sent out immediately after their capture of Yunkai, returned with bad news. Mereen had summoned its legions and began training more. They were preparing for a siege, and if Varys' estimation was correct that Slaver's Bay as a whole could muster some 90,000 trained soldiers, the odds were not entirely in their favor.

22,000 Unsullied had joined them, and they had killed another 15,000 soldiers, so roughly a third of the total strength of Slaver's Bay. This left Mereen with some 50,000 trained soldiers, and a civil population of some 150,000 free men to draw militia from. This force, in addition to the location and the immense strength of the walls of Mereen, left them with not much choice but to siege the city. During their short stay and from Ivan's information, they had gathered that the siege engines on the walls of Mereen had not been neglected and could shoot them down if they tried to burn down the walls. A risk they were not willing to take. So, they had to draw them out somehow.

Making a full count of their armies, they came to 9,500 cavalry, 23,000 Unsullied, 15,000 former sellswords, 4,500 Dornish and some 22,000 Forlorn. With these odds they stood a good chance at facing the armies of Mereen, if they got there in time.

The news the scouts had brought had not only told about the preparations of Mereen though. They had reported a dust cloud visible on the open plains to the north, the plains that bordered on the Dothraki Sea. This could mean only one thing, a Dothraki Khalasar was heading for Mereen, and if they got to the city before they did, their mounted warriors could easily tip the scales back into the slaver's favor.

The scouts had estimated that the khalasar was only a week from Mereen, when they had been there, which was two days ago. It would take the Valyrians at least four days to reach the city, leaving them only an uncomfortable small window in which to take the city.

At an emergency meeting of the military council, several plans were made and subsequently discarded to counter the threat posed by a Dothraki khalasar of as of yet unknown strength. After more than an hour of heated debates, Ivan slammed his fist onto the wooden table and called for attention.

"There is one more option available to us, but it will require speed and guts." This raised the attention of the other members and Ivan continued, "If we can smuggle a force into the city before they close the gates, we could have them hide until our arrival. Once we begin the assault on the walls, they will take advantage of the relocation of most guards to the walls, by breaking open the fighting pits and freeing the slaves therein. If the pit fighters join us, and they will if the 'Demon of Daznak' calls for them, we have a force of several thousand seasoned fighters within Mereen's walls.

If they can reach the gates and open them for our forces, we can stream into the city before the khalasar arrives and then fight the Dothraki from atop Mereen's walls."

"That is an interesting proposition, but how many men would it require and who do we put in charge because you, Ivan, are too well known there and too big to mingle in the city unnoticed."

Looking around the table it was silent until Oberyn said with a glint in his eyes, "It would be my pleasure to lead the force. I have been in Mereen before and I have visited the fighting pits, so I know where to go."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle looked interested and after getting agreement from everyone else, Aurora turned to him and asked, "How would you smuggle a force into the city?"

"Easy," Oberyn replied with a careless shrug. "We recruit the force from the men we recruited from Yunkai. Dress them in torn and dirty tokars and rough them up a bit before having them ride towards Mereen with all haste. Have them dismount a few miles from the walls and sent the horses back while they run to the walls in panic."

"Hiding in full sight," Gabrielle muttered softly while a smile spread on her face, "I like it. I think we can smuggle some five or six hundred men into the city that way. Once inside they'll have to disappear, but that will work I think. The point is smuggling in weapons."

"We don't need to," Ivan interjected before turning towards Oberyn. "Once inside, the first pit you go to is Daznak's. I still have friends there and I told them to be ready for trouble if the city ever got under siege. They will be waiting for a signal to strike, and the training grounds and pit have enough weapons to arm several hundred men. Take that pit first, and the fighters there will join you in taking over the other pits."

"That is a good idea," Oberyn agreed with a small nod. "The only remaining hiccup I can see in the plan is this. What do we do if we get into the city, but find the Dothraki arrive before you do?"

"If that should be the case…," Aurora began before hesitating a bit and sharing looks with both Gabrielle and Ivan, "if they do, then you stay put and keep yourselves hidden until we have dealt with the Dothraki. From everything we have learned, the Dothraki don't do sieges, they prefer an open battlefield where they can use their horses to the greatest effect. We will keep sending out our scouts to keep an eye on their progress and if they do arrive before we do, then here is what we are going to do about it…."

XXX

When Oberyn left the command tent two hours later, he could not suppress a small shiver running down his spine. From what Francine had reported about the preparations of Mereen and now with the possibility of having to face a Khalasar in open battle, the odds were not exactly optimistic, unless they could get things to play out exactly as they had just planned them out.

After making his way towards his tent, he noticed the smirks of the faces of the two guards standing watch outside it. "What's up with you two?" The two men were some of the only 'professional' soldiers he had brought, so their behavior was a bit unexpected.

"You have a visitor my prince." The left guard said with a smile as he and his colleague held open the overhang for him. Rolling his eyes, he entered the tent and closed the overhang behind him. Looking around him his eyes were immediately and inevitably drawn to such a most delightful sight he had rarely seen before.

A young woman, around twenty years old sat seductively posed on his field bed. Her long black hair was elegantly curled, and her brown eyes looked sultry at him from above the sheer silk veil that covered the lower half of her face. "Good afternoon my prince," her voice was soft and held a little purr to it that Oberyn found very arousing. But what surprised him was that she spoke fluently in the common tongue and had a very distinct Dornish accent.

Folding his hands before his chest, Oberyn looked the unknown women up and down until he recognized her. She was one of the slaves that had been 'given' to them before the sack of Yunkai. She had caught his eye back then but afterwards she had vanished in the chaos and his mind had quickly moved on to more pressing things. "And just who might you be my most delectable little flower."

XXX Lemon ahead XXX

She stood up from the bed and slowly lowered her silk vest, showing Oberyn her bare chest. Her skin was lightly bronzed, and her nipples looked incredibly inviting on her generous breasts. "Who would you want me to be my prince?" Her smile grew as she looked at Oberyn's pants and saw the distinct bulge. "Or should I say, where do you want me my prince?"

Letting a roguish grin take over his face, Oberyn took off his shirt and said, "Right there is just perfect love." He quickly strode over to her and after ripping of the veil, he passionately kissed her while groping her shapely arse. Her own hands traveled over his torso, wandering downwards until they reached his pants. She deftly loosened the belt and when his pants dropped, she grasped his cock with her extremely talented fingers and went to work.

As Oberyn felt a very pleasurable shiver run down his spine, the young women withdrew her lips from his and slowly and sensually started to kiss her way down his body. Giving a lick to both his nipples she then gently bit them before moving on. All the while keeping up the massage of his manhood.

After nearly a minute of slowly moving down, she reached his crotch and took the tip of his cock into her mouth. Sucking it into her mouth, she gently massaged it with her tongue, while moving her hands from his cock to his balls. "Uhhh, gods you're good at this." Oberyn moaned as his endurance, which he had thought quite outstanding, was broken down in mere minutes.

"If you… if you keep this up…. oh gods here it comes." Oberyn literally shook as he pumped his seed down the woman's throat, who swallowed it without complaint before licking his cock clean. As she stood back up, looking up at him with her sultry eyes, she deliberately swiped up a drop of cum that had slipped from between her lips. Making a show of it, she stuck out her tongue and licked the drop from her finger before swallowing very clearly.

"You taste good my prince." She whispered into his ear, licking the lobe as she did so.

"Who are you?" He gasped as he already felt himself hardening again.

XXX lemon ends XXX

"Who would you want me to be?" she asked as she had before.

Oberyn closed his eyes and shook his head before grasping the women by her shoulders and forcing her to look him in the eyes. "No, I want to know who you are, what name did your mother gave you, when did you leave Dorne and how come you are here, trained as a prostitute by the Yunkish."

The women swallowed before lowering her eyes, and asking a bit downcast, "Am I not pleasing to you my prince?"

Gently taking hold of her chin, Oberyn moved her head upwards and looked her in the eyes. "You are most pleasing to me my dear, but I want to know who you are. I don't want to fuck a mindless slave who was trained to do so. I want to make love to a woman who wants to be loved by me. And I want to know why that woman is now standing here before me, in my own tent."

The woman nodded and Oberyn released her, letting her sit down on the bed while he slung a piece of cloth around his waist and walked to the table where he picked up two glasses and a pitcher of sweet Dornish wine, and a chair. Placing the chair opposite the woman, he poured the two glasses full and gave one to the woman while placing the pitcher on the ground next to his chair.

The woman gratefully accepted the glass and took a few swigs of wine. It remained silent for a few minutes more, but Oberyn waited patiently. Finally, the woman sighed and began her story. "My name is Ellaria Sand, my father is Lord Harmen Uller, the Lord of Hellholt. My mother and I lived in a small coastal town on the southern shore of the Brimstone river. Twelve years ago, a slaver raid took me and my mother captive along with many others.

We were brought to Lys, where my mother was sold to a brothel, while I was sent to Yunkai, to be trained as a whore. I don't even know if she still lives." Small sobs could be heard as Ellaria let out the anguish she has had to keep hidden within her heart for all those long years. Oberyn felt a pinch in his chest at seeing her tears and took a decision. He pulled a light blanket from the bottom of the bed and slung that around her shoulders.

"Wait here, I'll be right back, and I promise you, if your mother still lives, I'll find her." Ellaria looked up with red puffy eyes and tear streaked cheeks, but she seemed to be lost for words.

Oberyn quickly pulled on his pants and put his vest over his shoulders before striding out of his tent and looking at his sniggering guards, one of which joked, "Had fun my prince?"

Oberyn was not amused though, balling his right fist he slammed it into the man's face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. The other immediately stopped laughing and stood at attention. Turning to the remaining guard Oberyn hissed, "When he wakes up you send him to Ser Aron Santagar and have him tell Ser Aron that I want ten new guards, the best he can get. You stay right here and make sure no-one besides the High Command enters this tent." Looking down at the knocked-out guard Oberyn shook his head in disgust and marched off.

He quickly made his way to the other command tents, which were conveniently placed rather close together in the middle of the camp. He stopped before the tent of the Lord Marshal and his wife and asked the trio of Amazons standing guard before it, "Is the Lady Francine available, I would like an urgent word with her."

The middle Amazon nodded and replied, "She is, I shall inform the Lady." She turned on her heels and after knocking on the tent pole, she entered the white-walled tent. A minute later she came out again, followed by Francine.

"What is it Oberyn?" Francine asked while closing the clasps that held her weapon sheaths attached to her back. Motioning to the Amazon who had informed her of his presence she continued, "Salaria said that you asked for an urgent word."

"Yes," Oberyn nodded, "I would like to ask you for a favor." This caused a slight rise of Francine's eyebrows and she motioned for him to continue, which he promptly did. "Do you know if, when you and your troops took Lys, you also happened to free a Dornish woman from one of the brothels?"

Looking a bit confused Francine had to think until Salaria said, "We did free several Dornish women in Lys my Lady, remember one of them begged to be allowed to come with us when she heard we were going to Slaver's Bay. She said something about her daughter being sent here."

"What," Oberyn quickly interjected while withering Francine's raised eyebrows at being interrupted. He quickly explained his reasoning though, "Just half an hour ago, when I entered my tent, I found a young Dornish woman waiting for me. After some other things," he ignored the knowing grin Francine sported at those words, "she eventually told me that she came from Dorne. She and her mother where taken by a slaver raid twelve years ago. Her mother was sold to a Lysine brothel, while she herself was sent over to Yunkai. She was one of those slaves the Yunkish tried to buy us off with."

Francine nodded understanding and turned to Salaria, "Do you know that woman's name and if she did actually come with us?"

"No, my Lady," Salaria shook her head regretfully. "I know she was not amongst the armada when we left Valyria, but she might have come along with the return fleet that came to Yunkai with the Forge Master's gifts. With your permission, I will go find out if she is in the camp."

"Go quickly," Francine nodded in agreement before adding, "If you find her, bring her to Prince Oberyn's tent. I will be there as well." Salaria saluted her and quickly ran off with one of her sisters in tow. Turning to Oberyn she said, "Lead the way Oberyn, let's see if we can reunite mother and daughter."

Oberyn quickly obliged and hurriedly returned to his tent, which was now guarded by twelve Dornishmen, one of which sported a broken and bleeding nose. Turning to the man Oberyn softly said, "My apologies for hitting you, I should not have done that. Go to the healers and get your nose fixed up." The man nodded and quickly hurried off.

Oberyn opened the overhang and let Francine enter his tent before he followed her. They found Ellaria where Oberyn had left her not ten minutes ago, huddled on the bed within the blanket he had put around her shoulders. She was no longer crying, but her face was downcast, and her shoulders drooped.

Francine kneeled before the bed and gently took Ellaria's hands in her own. "Hello Ellaria, do you know who I am?"

After looking up Ellaria said softly, "Yes my Lady. You are the one who took Lys."

Francine nodded and said, "That is right. Now Oberyn told me that your mother was in Lys when you last saw her, is that correct?"

Ellaria nodded and letting her face drop again she said softly, "Yes, my Lady. She was sold to a brothel in Lys while I was sent to Yunkai."

Francine squeezed softly in her hands and replied. "Now listen to me very carefully. I do not want you to get your hopes up right now, but we may have found your mother." This caused Ellaria to look up immediately with hope shining in her eyes while Francine continued.

"When we left Valyria, we were approached by a woman from Dornish decent. She claimed to have come from a brothel in Lys and had heard that we were going to Slaver's Bay. She asked to come along because her daughter had been taken there twelve years ago. She was denied passage on the original armada, but she might have come along with the second that came to take the Yunkish back to Valyria. Right now, I have one of my commanders searching around the camp to see if she is here. So, we have to be patient okay, it will take her some time to search around the camp."

Ellaria nodded quickly with hope on her face and she looked up at Oberyn with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, my Prince,"

"You are most welcome my dear," Oberyn smiled at her before he dug around in a chest and removed a long, red silk dress, which he gave her. "Here, put this on, I had planned to send this to my eldest daughter Obara for her fifteenth name day, but you are of similar height, so it should fit you reasonably well."

Ellaria gratefully accepted the dress and threw of the blanket to get out of her sheer silk skirt and put on the dress. Francine helped her by creatively tying the laces on the back to make it fit and soon she was dressed properly.

"So that's better isn't it?" Francine asked with a smile as Ellaria caressed the soft silk of the bodice of the dress. It was a bit tight around her breasts and loose around the arms, but it fit her reasonably well.

They waited in silence for nearly half an hour until Francine heard a small group of people running towards the tent. Motioning Oberyn with her eyes towards Ellaria, she quickly got up and walked out of the tent.

As she stepped out, she saw Salaria quickly approaching, flanking a woman in a simple brown dress who looked somewhat like Ellaria. Taking a stand before the tent opening, Francine stopped the women before she could storm on in.

Taking a deep breath, she analyzed the woman's smell and compared it to Ellaria's while staring the woman down with a penetrating gaze. Using a trick, she had learned from Gabrielle, she stared into the woman's eyes. It has been said that the eyes are the gate to the soul, and in her case, Francine could use this to browse the surface thoughts of the one she was looking at. She couldn't break open a mind like Aurora and Gabrielle could, but this way she could still figure out if someone was lying to her or trying to deceive her.

She found nothing ill meaning in the woman's thoughts and her smell did compare reasonably well with Ellaria's. Letting a small smile take over her lips, she nodded to Salaria and stepped aside. Unknown to the woman, Salaria had stood behind her with a drawn knife, ready to intercede at the slightest motion of Francine.

When the woman rushed into the tent, Francine and Salaria where hot on her heels.

Oberyn had immediately taken Ellaria's hands once Francine stood up and kept her on the bed. "Don't rush out," he cautioned her. "It might not be what you expect. We just have to wait and see what the Lady can find out."

Ellaria nodded slowly and tried to relax on the bed while she turned to fidgeting with her dress as they waited. When the overhang was finally swept open after what felt like an eternity, but was less than two minutes in fact, she couldn't help but jump up from the bed.

The two women stood opposite each other for a moment gauging the other and trying to recognize something in the other. Slowly they walked closer as the three spectators kept a careful watch until…

"Mom?" It came softly and a little frightfully from one side only to be answered by an equally soft and frightful,

"Ella?"

"Mom," Ellaria cried before throwing herself into her mother's arms.

"Oh Ella, o my precious little girl." Mother and daughter sank down to their knees as they cried in happiness and joy.

Oberyn walked around them to stand besides Francine and said softly, "Thank you, I'll owe you one for this."

Francine turned to him and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn with her and she whispered, "You don't owe me anything Oberyn, but let me make one thing very clear to you. I have heard about you, about your reputation and your 'sand snakes', so let me give you one warning. If you start something with this girl, you're going all the way. If you get her pregnant, you will marry her, or I will personally castrate you."

Oberyn swallowed before nodding and he said, "I will. But if you would, send them to Valyria to make sure they're safe. I don't want her anywhere near Mereen or Slaver's Bay in general."

Francine nodded and whispered back, "I'll have them shipped back home first thing in the morning, and they'll be waiting for you when we come back."

"Thank you." With a nod Francine left the tent with Salaria hot on her heels.

Author's note :

So here is the second part of the Slaver's Bay campaign, I hope you liked it and please review.

MM

Definitely my fault this took so long sorry guys.

Ever present Beta Dealyflame