The fire that ate Melisandre's head, was not like anything Gendry had ever seen before. "That weird colour of the flame, isn't normal." He shivered and added, "I'm relieved she's dead."
"Damn, it stinks too… and that ain't the smell of death," Arya agreed.
"The wolves agree." Gendry laughed as the pack all began to sneeze multiple times.
"Since the fire is all ash, let's go."
"Which direction?"
Arya shrugged. "Nymeria which way?"
The wolf stared at her, then looked northward and whined.
"She wants to go after Aulix, right?" Gendry asked.
"Give me a second." Arya looked to the sky and spotted a crow. Then announced, "the crow wants to go back to Saltpans."
"I thought we were going to King's Landing."
Arya sighed. "We will, just not yet. But I don't want to go back to Saltpans either… no offence. Alright we'll go find Aulix. You better be right Nymeria!"
The wolf waved her tail happily. It was almost comical. Then Nymeria began to move off. The two riders followed the pack, while across the sea in Braavos, Taron stood on the ship's deck, along with Byt, Tam and Benn. They waved good-bye to their friends and guild family, until they couldn't see them any more. Byt was crying and he nodded at Tam to be the one to comfort her. Benn was overly hyper and Taron had to check him, before he drew too much attention their way.
"Chill out man. We'll be stuck on this ship for at least a month, through good weather and bad. When we see land again, then you can get excited."
Benn apologized, "Sorry. It's just my first time across the sea and leaving Braavos."
Byt sniffed, but remained in Tam's arms. "The thrill will wear off, when you get sick."
Tam normally kept to himself and was quiet. "Don't worry bro, I'll hold on to you while you puke over the rail."
Byt looked at Taron, who was the only one who knew anything about Tam and where he'd come from. When Taron said nothing, her curiosity made her ask, "and not you too Tam?"
"I've been on ships before. Worked a while on one, before coming to Braavos." He let go of her and turned around.
She wanted him to open up and trust her more. The four of them would need to depend on each other for a while. There was no escape now, for at least a month. Byt reached out and grabbed his arm, arresting his movement. He turned back to her and she saw emotions chasing across his eyes. Before it got awkward, Taron intervened.
"We've got to stick together. Observe our surroundings. The area is just smaller now, but who we are and what we do, hasn't changed. Understood?" He made eye contact with them all, but gave a wink to Byt.
Benn and Tam nodded. Then Benn added, "Byt, don't go anywhere alone. That butchy bald guy, that tried to put his hand on you earlier, hasn't taken his eyes off you since we boarded."
Tam offered, "don't worry I've got your back."
Taron glanced at the bald guy. "He'll be our first target. Watch him a few days and then see what he's got for us to take. Keep your blades hidden, but ready."
Byt asked, "are we bunking below?"
"Not me," Tam laughed. "If it doesn't smell like ass, it'll be rank with barf soon. Fresh air for me. When it rains, the sail I bought for the trip, it'll protect me from the storm."
Taron agreed, "I bought two hammocks below. But I'm staying up here with Tam."
"Um, okay I'll stay up here too. Benn?" Byt decided.
"Top side sounds good. I hope your sail tarp thing has room for us all!"
"Yeah it does. Let's find a spot on this boat to call our own… for a month," Tam added with a chuckle.
"Over here. This stuff is anchored to the floor boards. It won't move, if there is a storm," Benn suggested.
"That's good. This area between the two loads, can store our stuff." Byt then added, "I brought cards. Anyone want to play?"
"Sure. Let's bet with food, cause I'm hungry and hate rationing the amount." Tam grinned and winked at her.
"You guys start up, I want to scope out what's down below in the hold." Taron said, but he was already moving away.
Benn asked, "is everything okay?"
"Don't worry about him. Once we've put a few days in on the sea, he'll be back to normal." Byt explained and then gave out the cards.
While they played, their eyes checked out the rest of the passengers and the ship's crew. Taron returned and bought into the card game, offering up dried meat. He let the others win and they knew it too. He told them what was below and what passengers had bought hammocks to sleep in. Just like Aulix and Arya had before them, so too would these four spend their days on the sea. The difference was, they didn't know about the monsters that lurked in the depths below.