AN: In this chapter, I'm trying my hand at subtle writing.

Erembo, captain of the Goldseeker, stepped off his ship's gangplank and onto the pier. A few dozen more steps brought him to the soil of Tyrosh.

As colourful as always. Feels like I stepped into the world of a dream.

The native Tyroshi could be easily distinguished from foreigners by their colourful hair. While the famous dyes of Tyrosh were expensive elsewhere, on the island itself they were as cheap as low-quality ale. In just a single group of Tyroshi dockworkers, Erembo saw hair that was red, yellow, green, blue and purple. Many of them also wore hats of extraordinary shapes: animals and plants were common themes, but there was one hat that looked like nothing so much as a mound of gemstones.

Compared to them all, Erembo looked quite plain with his undyed black hair and his faded brown hat and longcoat. Still, he wouldn't let that stop him from doing business.

Erembo glanced over his shoulder to make sure the men left on the ship were standing watch. It wouldn't do for them to doze off and allow thieves to rob the ship.

There's no one else but them now, as the others've already gone off to the winesinks and pillow houses to spend their coin.

When he was a younger man, yet to earn a ship of his own, Erembo would have joined them. But he'd lost interest in such things years ago.

Erembo patted his hip, confirming that his hidden dagger was there on his belt. It's a dangerous world. Best to be ready for a fight, even if I don't seek one.

If he had any cargo, then Erembo's first business upon docking would be to sell off all or part of that cargo. However, his latest stop was in Myr, and at the time there'd been nothing on the Myrish marketplace that would interest merchants in Tyrosh.

Instead, Erembo went to the nearest market. By looking at which goods were currently cheap and which were expensive, he could work out which goods he should purchase to sell to merchants in future ports.

But before he even reached the marketplace, he heard something that made him stop for a moment.

"—she might come for Tyrosh next!"

"By the Lord! Our walls wouldn't help if she comes with dragons!"

That was bewildering to Erembo. Dragons were creatures of legend, everyone knew that. The last dragons in Essos had died during the Doom of Valyria, and the last dragons in the world—those across the Narrow Sea—had died over a century ago.

And yet it was far from the only time he heard such rumours. Not even one minute later, he heard sailors talking about an army of seventy thousand being slain to the last man. Then he heard dockside whores gossiping about the infamous dragon queen of Meereen, who'd summoned a demon from the netherworld to devour her enemies. And then he heard a merchant claiming that Yunkai had now been razed to the ground.

Just what in the world has happened in Slaver's Bay? I haven't been there in over a year, and the last I'd heard was that some mad queen was stirring up conflict…

Erembo hesitated for a moment. He eventually resumed his walk towards the market. Whatever trouble was happening in Slaver's Bay, it had yet to reach Tyrosh.

During his walk, Erembo noticed a few children in rags. Their sort could be found in every city, orphans forced to make a living by themselves, whether by begging, whoring themselves out or cutting the purses of others. Erembo paid them little mind, since none came close enough to try stealing from him.

He reached his destination: a chaotic mess of hundreds of stalls, selling goods from half the known world.

Erembo first purchased a salted cod—he enjoyed chewing on such treats as he gathered information. That was something that hadn't changed since his youth.

Even here, he couldn't escape the rumours coming from Slaver's Bay. He actually heard one fishmonger advertise with the line "Get your fish here while you still can, before the dragon queen burns us all! Get your fresh fish here!"

Aside from that, Erembo quickly noticed something else. There was a notable shortage of Westerosi goods available in the market. That was quite strange for a port on the western side of Essos, just a short sail away from several major ports of Westeros.

Autumn storms do reduce shipping across the Narrow Sea, but never by this much. Could war have flared up again in Westeros? I'd heard that one king had prevailed… perhaps his victory is still far from complete.

Erembo eventually found a merchant he recognised, a stout, green-haired woman in her forties who sold fishing equipment.

"Maena, it's been too long!" Erembo called out.

"Erembo!?" Maena said. "You're still alive, you old sea dog? Heard you'd been swallowed up by the sea last year!"

That made Erembo laugh. "You must have mixed me up with some other captain. I'm far too experienced to die like that."

"Bah, that's what they all say, and then they go and get themselves killed in a storm!" Maena held up a rolled-up net. "Well? In need o' my wares now?"

Erembo took out an oval-shaped coin from his pocket. This was actually a coin from his homeland of Myr instead of one of the coins of Tyrosh. Still, silver was silver, and it would be easy for Maena to exchange his coin for the local equivalent.

"I'm actually in need of information, Maena." Erembo handed over the coin. "I've been doing my business mainly in northern Essos, even going as far as Ibben once, so I know little of news further south, or in the Sunset Kingdoms. And what I've heard is… confusing."

Maena looked deeply troubled. That was a rare sight for Erembo. In fact, he'd never seen her look so troubled in the eight years they'd known each other.

"It would be, I imagine. But even here in Tyrosh, we only started hearing the news three days ago. It started when we got a Yunkish ship from Slaver's Bay."

"Wait, from Slaver's Bay? Surely it stopped at other ports along the way."

Tyrosh was separated from Slaver's Bay by half the breadth of Essos. Any ship that started in the bay would have to stop at several ports to resupply.

"It did, but it didn't stay in any of 'em for more than a day, the crew said. And the crew… they were scared, Erembo. I should say, wasn't just sailors on that ship, there were soldiers too. Hardened men, and every one scared out o' their wits. They were travellin' west as far and fast as they could, to get away from Slaver's Bay."

Erembo gulped. "That… would explain why so many in the docks are talking as if these stories are true, instead of just wild rumours. But what did those on this first ship say, exactly?"

"Things I'll never forget." Maena worked her jaw. "Said they were camped outside Meereen, they woke up one morning, and then there were screams and fire. They saw their captains just… fall apart, in pieces, saw their big weapons… uh, the ones for attacking cities…"

"Siege weapons?"

"Yeah, saw their seej weapons get knocked down. So they ran back to their ships, sailed away as fast as the wind'd take them."

Erembo had to admit, it sounded like dragons had attacked. No other power in this world could rout an army so easily, filling the survivors with such terror.

"And before you ask, they ain't sure who did it," Maena said. "Some of 'em said dragons, but most said it had to be something else—gods, demons, spirits, there's ten different ideas. Only agreed on two things: it was flying in the sky, and it was fast."

So it's not dragons after all? Erembo wondered. All the legends I'd heard, they portray dragons as powerful beasts, but not so fast that they can't be seen…

"Thank you for that, Maena… is there any other news from Slaver's Bay?"

"Just yesterday, a little fleet came to Tyrosh, had come from New Ghis," Maenia said. "They sent men to the war at Meereen too… half those men came back, telling stories just like what I told you. So a lot o' the high folk in New Ghis, they're running away before the dragon queen comes. Not all of 'em came here, some stopped in Volantis, some even went the other way, to Qarth."

"The only thing they have in common is fear of the dragon queen…" Erembo said. "It seems to me that the world is about to change."

Maena shrugged. "Some're saying the dragon queen hates slavery and wants to burn every slaving city, like Tyrosh. But I think those ones're too scared to think properly. Even those dragonlords in the old days, they didn't burn everyone. Or am I rememberin' wrong?"

"No, that's right. The Valyrian dragonlords wanted to conquer the world, not to exterminate all other peoples. They only killed those who resisted them."

"Then Tyrosh should be fine, we haven't sent a single man to attack this dragon queen. And our own high folks—" Maena jabbed a finger towards the black inner walls of Tyrosh, within which dwelled the city's rulers, "—might be greedy bastards who tax every damn thing, but they ain't stupid. They won't pick a fight they can't win."

"For your sake, I hope not," Erembo said. "I've heard enough of news from Slaver's Bay. What is the latest news from the Sunset Kingdoms?"

"They've got war—more war, I should say." Maena shook her head in disbelief. "Can't that land go for a decade without war?"

That made Erembo chuckle. The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros were currently in the War of the Five Kings, but before that was the Greyjoy Rebellion, and before that was Robert's Rebellion. This was why many in Essos saw Westeros as a barbaric and violent land.

"But I thought one king had defeated the others," Erembo said. "Was that information wrong, or is this a completely different war?"

"That's the strange thing, the Sunset Kingdoms might not have a king now. A ship from there came just last week, from that capital, King's Landing. Said there was a big green fire, killed a lot o' the high folks."

Erembo frowned at that. "Green fire? You're sure that's what they said?"

"As sure of that as I'm sure my three brats are lazy good-for-nothings. Ahem. The sailors on that crew all said it was a green fire, least at first. The fire spread to other houses, and those ones burned orange, like normal."

In his travels across the world, Erembo had heard tales of wildfire, a liquid so dangerously flammable that some claimed sorcery was responsible. He'd never seen the substance himself, but he'd heard that both it and the fire it produced were an unnatural green.

And this wasn't the only time he'd heard of green fire lately. It was said that last year, a terrifyingly large fire had burned on the waters of Blackwater Bay in Westeros, with an entire fleet being consumed by green light.

"Putting the colour of the fire aside… you mentioned a queen, Maena. Is that the wife of the last king?"

Maena shook her head. "His mother, actually. They say the last king's still a boy, younger than my youngest, even. Can't rule yet, so his mother's the one giving orders now. She's not actually a queen, they say, but she's got the power o' one."

"Ah, that makes sense. In the Sunset Kingdoms, women generally aren't permitted to rule…"

Erembo tried to remember who the ruling house of Westeros was. It took some effort, since a mere sailor like him had never had the chance to meet any of the royals. He also hadn't spent much time in Westeros.

I remember a stag and a lion on their heraldry… the stag from the king's house, the lion from the queen's house… but what were their names again?

The queen's house… I remember its name was something similar to the word "lion"…

"And you don't want to go to Westeros, anyway," Maena said. "The new queen's one thing, but there's also this new pirate king in the Stepstones. The Lord o' the Waters, he calls himself."

"Thank you, Maena, you've left me better-informed. Here, I'll double your payment."

After handing over another Myrish coin, Erembo walked away. He proceeded to leave the market and begin exploring the docks.

Could any of those ships still be here?

He spent half an hour searching, also asking questions when necessary. By the end of it, he'd only found two of the ships from New Ghis. The other ships from there, as well as the ship from Yunkai and the ship from King's Landing, were no longer docked at Tyrosh.

Erembo approached the sailors standing next to one of the New Ghiscari ships. They immediately glared hatefully at him, and one started cracking his knuckles. The captain quickly moved on.

That lot clearly aren't in the mood to talk…

He then came to the other New Ghiscari ship. This one had only one sailor on the pier next to it. He was sitting on a crate and looking at the sea, but when Erembo approached, he looked up with a long-suffering expression.

"Let me guess, you want to talk," the sailor said. He spoke in a dialect of bastard Valyrian that Erembo, even as a well-travelled man, took a moment to comprehend.

Erembo took out another coin. "Yes, and I'll make it worth your while."

The sailor didn't seem impressed. Erembo had to increase the offer to three, then to five coins for him to accept.

"It's simple," the Ghiscari sailor said while pocketing the coins. "We had an army there, tens of thousands of men in a big, stinking sty."

"Sty?"

The Ghiscari sailor looked even more irritated than before. "Ghiscari word, for a place to keep pigs. Shut up, or I won't tell you more."

Erembos shut his mouth tightly.

"Like I said, we had an army there…" the sailor continued. "And one woman—one demon crushed them all."

Erembos had been ready for many possibilities, but this was completely outside his expectations. He almost voiced his surprise out loud.

"The soldiers, they wouldn't've seen properly, too panicked for that… but I saw it all. I was on a ship on the coast, got a good view of it all," The Ghiscari sailor looked at the sea again, now with a haunted expression. "She was a… a blue line in the sky, couldn't see any more for most of the fight. She cut men into halves, started fires, knocked over the Six Sisters."

That was presumably a reference to something, but Erembos didn't dare ask what.

"And she didn't slow down 'til the dragons came out."

So there were dragons… an extinct species has been brought back into the world.

"Three, the masters said, but I only saw two. And the demon… she… she fought them in the air! There was this light, like looking at the sun for a second, and then the dragons crashed on the ground!"

Erembo shivered. If he'd been listening to this story under normal circumstances, he would've dismissed it as a work of fiction. Yet after everything he'd heard today, it had a horrifying degree of plausibility.

"Not sure what the demon did next… my ship was heading off, then, and all this was happening far away… I saw her next to one dragon, and it… turned smaller… Some of my shipmates, they think she ate the dragon somehow, even with her tiny body… ate it with some kind of magic. That's all I know… never saw Meereen again after that."

"…Thank you for the information."

Erembo slowly walked away. He then spent his time simply wandering the docks aimlessly.

In the east, Slaver's Bay is now beset by dragons and… a mysterious demon. In the west, there have been two large-scale uses of wildfire, which some consider magical…

I grew up thinking magic was gone from the world. Now, it seems, I must revise that opinion…

Eventually, Erembo came to a decision. He spent the rest of the day visiting certain wealthy merchants in Tyrosh, negotiating and signing contracts.

He spent the night in his cabin aboard his ship, the Goldseeker. While he could have found a more comfortable room in a tavern, he found it more comforting to sleep surrounded by the sturdy timbers of the ship that he'd sailed around the world.

His sleep was far from restful. He dreamed of a ferocious dragon, bigger than any ship, flying above the Goldseeker. The dragon opened its maw and unleashed a cone of green flames. He managed to barely survive by leaping off the ship…

…only for the dragon to snatch him out of the air. He screamed, expecting to be devoured, except that the dragon was now a beautiful woman with blue wings. She smiled at him, a smile that stirred his heart more than even the best of Lyseni whores…

…only for her to open her mouth wide, wide enough to swallow his entire body…

When Erembo woke the next morning, he felt as if he hadn't slept at all.

He washed his face and dressed himself, acting more on muscle memory than conscious thought. He stepped out of his cabin, hoping that the bright sunlight would help dispel his fears.

Think, Erembo, think.

I've bought new cargo, but the destination has yet to be decided. There are many possible ports.

I could sail to Myr or Lys—the former would allow me to see home again, while my men would cheer at the latter. But the profit would be minor if we sell our cargo there.

I could sail to Volantis. The military might of the strongest Free City might present a challenge for even magical creatures.

I could sail to Braavos. If this dragon queen's hatred of slavery is true, then Braavos is the Free City she's least likely to attack.

I could even sail to a port in Westeros. Though I'd have to avoid this new pirate king's territory, and also need to find some part of that land not yet ravaged by war…

In any case, I must gather more information.

Erembo left his ship again. Today, he didn't limit himself to just the docks, also exploring the city that lay within Tyrosh's outer walls. He spoke to sailors, merchants, cooks, smiths, clerks, sellswords slaves, even a few of the street children. He would have talked to the nobility of Tyrosh, too, had any been willing to share their thoughts with him.

From a variety of people, Erembo learned about Daenerys Targaryen's earlier actions. Apparently, she had visited Qarth, sacked Astapor and plundered Yunkai before her conquest of Meereen. And during her rule over Meereen, she'd gone to considerable lengths to try keeping the peace, even marrying a local noble. Many claimed that this was all a trick, but reading between the lines, Erembo doubted that.

It seems that Daenerys Targaryen's violence is directed primarily at leaders and soldiers, Erembo concluded. Commoners and merchants have not generally been targeted under her reign, and as it happens, I fit both categories. Though it's still possible for commoners and merchants to suffer accidentally due to her actions.

And all this assumes she is still the one in power in Slaver's Bay. If she's lost control of her dragons, then I assume dragons will eat any fresh meat within reach. And I haven't the slightest idea how this… demon behaves…

One street child, a scrawny boy with dark hair, had remarkable knowledge of Westeros. He was able to tell Erembo that Westeros' new queen would be one "Cersei Lannister", and could even list the queen's relatives. It would be useful information for if Erembo ever sailed to Westeros in future.

By lunchtime, Erembo knew that virtually no one had plans to travel to Meereen or its vicinity. Not even sellswords, who normally flocked to sites of conflict—one could hardly make a living from certain death, after all. The only people likely to travel there would be a small number of scouts, and these would need to be very well-paid, or be well-trained slaves lacking survival instincts, to accept the task.

But what most see as danger… can also be opportunity.

I have crossed the seas dozens of times. Each and every time, there were the dangers of being sunk in a storm or being slaughtered by pirates. I never let those stop me.

In the last quarter of the day, Erembo returned to the Goldseeker, as did his crew. Erembo had made it clear to all of them that they could have two days and one night of shore leave, and no more. All returned before the sun set.

Also in the last quarter of the day, wagons of goods arrived on the adjacent pier. These wagons held their cargo: pots of red dye and blue dye, barrels of pear brandy and—most expensive of all—a single crate holding two sets of gilded armour. Erembo ordered his sailors to load it on the ship and to prepare the ship for departure.

Erembo called a meeting in his cabin, attended by his first mate, quartermaster and navigator. The three men came from Pentos, Lys and the Summer Isles, respectively, and they had a range of ages, but all were competent sailors whom he trusted.

"Men, as I see it, we have two options if we want to maximise our profits," Erembo said. "We can sail to Volantis and sell our cargo there… or we can sail further east, to New Ghis."

"Captain, did you not hear a thing out there?" the first mate said incredulously. "That whole region's a warzone now!"

"Some people fear it is," Erembo corrected. "There's no guarantee they're right. And even if they are… think about what you've heard these two days. Do you expect New Ghis to still be a warzone when we arrive? Remember that we'll take weeks to sail that far, while from… Meereen, it is just a few days' sail."

The three officers exchanged glances.

"Are you thinking we could still sell our cargo even if New Ghis is conquered by the dragon queen?" the quartermaster said.

"Why not?" Erembo said. "War is a fairly common thing. The leadership of the Sunset Kingdoms has been overturned through war in our lifetimes."

"Yes, but…" the navigator said. "What if New Ghis is a burnt wasteland when we arrive? We can't sell if there's no one to sell to."

"There is that risk," Erembo acknowledged. "But that's why I'm putting it to you three, so we can decide the best option. The safety of Volantis, or the risk of New Ghis?"

The officers still looked doubtful. None of them rejected the risky option immediately, however, and Erembo knew why.

The value of trade goods is affected by scarcity. No other captain will travel to New Ghis, meaning that our cargo will be free from competition, we can charge as high a price as our customers will pay. For similar reasons, we can buy goods from there and sell them elsewhere at inflated prices.

…Though if it's the dragon queen who rules New Ghis when we arrive, perhaps we shouldn't sell at too high a price. Don't want to cause offence.

Eventually, the first mate spoke again. "Captain, I know you're no fool. What's your plan if we get to New Ghis, and it's been completely destroyed?"

"In that case, the island itself would still exist," Erembo replied. "We could dock there, replenish our food and water as best we can, repair any damage the ship has suffered, then turn back for Volantis… or even continue east to Qarth. I expect we'll get decent prices for our cargo there as well, it would just take longer."

"Alright… in that case, I'm fine with trying New Ghis," the first mate said.

"With the profits we get from this voyage, we might all be able to retire!" the quartermaster said.

"It's risky, but no sailor worth his salt is afraid of death!" the navigator said.

Erembo smiled. "Thank you. We might be diving into hell, men, but we'll be doing it together!"

"Oh, and a bit of advice, Captain?" the first mate said with a grin. "Might want to crack open your personal stores, share it with the crew. Otherwise they might mutiny when they hear where we're going."

"Hmph, I'll do that…"

They discussed their plans for a while longer, then split up to do their individual duties. It wasn't long until the Goldseeker had lifted anchor and begun sailing out of the harbour of Tyrosh.

When everything was in order, Erembo had a barrel of spiced rum hauled up and announced his planned destination to the crew. As expected, there was much trepidation, but the crew agreed in the end. Erembo had sailed around the world with these men, braved the same dangers as them, and they were willing to stick with his wild idea now.

After a round of drinking, Erembo returned to his cabin. Along the way, he noticed a rat scuttling into a corner—the little creatures were more active now since it was dusk.

We can never be rid of vermin, not even with the cat on our ship. Whenever we stop in a new port, more rats sneak on board.

Erembo lay down on his bed and looked up at the dark ceiling.

They say Meereen has something more dangerous than even dragons. I'm a bit curious to see just what it—or she, is. But if I tried to turn us to Meereen, the crew would certainly mutiny.

Even if we're only stopping at New Ghis, there's a chance we might see her. New Ghis is a few days' sail from Meereen, but to a demon that can fly, it might be just a few hours.

Normal men would stay far away from such a thing. Only lunatics would want to approach it.

Perhaps we are indeed lunatics… but we'll be lunatics who've seen one of the mysteries of the world.

And if all goes well, also very wealthy lunatics.

AN: For those not familiar with the (very detailed) geography of ASOIAF, imagine Essos as a continent much longer from east to west than from north to south (or "much wider than tall"). Braavos, the setting of Chapter 15, is on the northwest corner. Tyrosh, the setting of this chapter, is an island off its southwest corner. Go east from Tyrosh and there's various ports until you hit Volantis. East of that is the Valyrian Peninsula. East again and you get Slaver's Bay, and some distance south of this is the island of New Ghis. Go even further east and you get Qarth. There's locations even further east than Qarth, but these are unlikely to be relevant to this story.

As for Westeros, that's (obviously) west from Essos, with the Narrow Sea in between. Tyrosh is opposite to the Stormlands of Westeros. North from the Stormlands is the Crownlands and the capital city of King's Landing, while to the south is Dorne.

Or you can just look up a map, which explains all this and more.