Volantis, the first colony of Valleglia's Free Fortress. It was powerful and had a long history. It was known as the "Eldest Daughter of Valleglia", the "Queen of the Lorne River", and the "Mistress of the Summer Sea".
Around six o 'clock in the evening, the blood-red and swollen sun was half immersed in the sea. The waves sparkled and reflected the light. Hundreds of ships in the harbor were dyed red like blood.
"Do you see that? That dock belongs to the Blackwall Nobles. The two hundred warships docked there are all prepared for that woman."
Cadillac stood up from the back of the elephant and stood on the old mahjong mat cushion. He excitedly pointed at the long line of ships that stretched for more than ten miles in front of them.
There were beige sails, dark red sails, dark green sails, pale yellow sails …
There was a flag fluttering on the top of the mast of each warship. There was the flag of the Lysians, the flag of the Skull Crown of Volantis, the flag of the Harpy of Gith, the flag of the Tourmaline Brotherhood of Queers, the flag of the White Elephant on a green background from the Elephant Island of the East, and …
There were more than two hundred of them, but none of them were flat-bottomed merchant ships. They were all highly mobile paddling boats and naval warships with long rams. They were like soldiers who were ready to go. They were lined up neatly on the drill ground on the ocean.
It was daunting, at least like the coachman in front of the carriage who had a tattoo of a wheel on his face.
His name was Cadillac. He was a blond Loirna in his early twenties. He was thin and small, less than 1.65 meters tall. His long, freckled face was even more prominent.
After resting for only an hour in the wilderness, Danny and Barristan continued east on the dragon. After flying for less than an hour, large and neat manors began to appear in the green fields.
After flying west for another half an hour, the two landed in a birch forest with tall branches. After walking for two miles, they came across a small tavern with a banner that said "Aunt Kelly's Lamb Pie" on the side of the yellow road.
The owner, Aunt Kelly, had silver hair and blue eyes. Her skin was fair and delicate. She was a slightly plump middle-aged woman.
She wasn't surprised to see the silver-haired, purple-eyed Danny. Most of the girls in the manor nearby had Valleglia's bloodline, and the woman had seen too many of them.
However, Danny's appearance still left a good impression on Aunt Kelly. When she heard that the two of them wanted to buy a horse, she warned them, "Young lady, in the eyes of us locals and even foreign ship owners, traveling on foot is a loss of dignity, and riding a horse is too barbaric. People with status and status often travel in palanquins or elephant carriages.
You don't look like a child from an ordinary family. Why don't we hire an elephant carriage?
Coincidentally, my cousin is a big player in the business of elephant carts. He has businesses in the East and West Volantis.
Of course, I see that both of you have long swords at your waists, so you must be noble knights. Knights can't live without horses, and the horses in my family's stable … "
Aunt Kelly blabbered on and on. Danny bought two tamed horses, one white and one red, two carrot and lamb pies wrapped in paper boxes, four bottles of red wine from the Land of the Setting Sun, and a pack of snacks.
In the end, she even hired an elephant cart from her cousin's house.
They spent a total of five gold radiance coins.
Aunt Kelly patted her basketball-like chest and promised. Not only did she give them a 20% discount, she also removed at least two silver coins from the change.
Danny's face was blank. She didn't ask anything and silently handed over six gold radiance coins. Under Aunt Kelly's shocked gaze, she said, "If you're honest, I'll give you a gold coin as a tip."
Aunt Kelly held the six gold coins tightly. The smile on her face when she was expecting to get five gold coins was completely gone. Her blue eyes were filled with regret and self-blame. I was too honest and let go of a big fish for nothing … From today onwards, my lamb pies will increase in price. I'm going to rip off every traveler I don't know!
Volantis was rich in elephants, or rather, all the cities in the south near the Summer Sea had elephants. Slave Bay also had elephants, but Volantis had a lot of dwarf grey elephants.
Using elephants to farm was not Danny's original idea. The people of Volantis had done it a long time ago.
Not only could they farm, but they could also pull carts, transport goods, ride, and fight … Elephants could do almost everything that horses could do.
The elephants that were tamed by the people of Volantis were a type of small dwarf elephant. Their skin was mostly grey or white, dirty white. Hence, they were also called grey dwarf elephants.
The 'dwarf' here was only relative to the mammoth that was three to four meters tall. In fact, an adult dwarf elephant could also grow to 2.2-2.5 meters.
For example, the elephant that pulled Danny's cart was 2.4 meters tall. Its white skin was like the snow that had been trampled on, and it looked a little dirty.
The elephant cart was similar to the ox carts in other cities. It was an enlarged version of the ox cart, and its wheels were even taller than Danny's.
The huge wooden wheels were inlaid with rusty iron sheets. The passengers sat on soft chairs that were cushioned with brown mahjong mats between the wheels. The coachman rode on the back of the elephant, and there was also a mahjong mat below.
Valleglia's climate was hot.
From the yellow dirt road to Valleglia's main road that was covered with solidified brown animal feces, there were more and more people on the road. Almost all the free people were sitting in palanquins or elephant carts.
Well, the people who were walking had slave tattoos on their faces, and their clothes were also very simple.
For example, the coachman who drove the elephant cart would have a tattoo of a wheel on one side of his cheek. Other than a loincloth and sandals, he wore nothing else.
His bare back was tanned and shiny, like a layer of oiled cowhide.
After walking for four to five miles, they left the area of the manor outside the city and entered the east end of the West City's pier. The elephant cart stopped at a two-story post station. The coachman climbed down from the elephant's back, pointed at Danny and said a few words to a silver-haired middle-aged man in a silk robe.
Then, the middle-aged Volantis man shouted loudly, "Cadillac, go to the elephant pen and get a high-level white elephant here. Change to a golden jade palanquin."
Then, he came to Danny's cart and explained with a smile, "I'm Olivier, the director of the Valleglia people's elephant carts stationed at the pier.
You see it too? There's a license plate behind the elephant cart, so you can tell where the elephant cart is going. Elephant carts outside the city are not allowed to enter the inner city, so the two of you have to change carts.
Don't worry, there won't be any extra charge. I'll also arrange for the best elephant driver and the most gorgeous elephant cart for you to send the two of you safely to the merchant house in the West City. "
Danny nodded blankly. What else could she say?
Don't think that I can't hear you just because you're far away. That coachman's voice was so loud …
The guest was rich and gave Lady Kelly a gold coin as a tip.
However, Cadillac's skills were indeed extraordinary. His ability to control the elephant was 30% of Danny's ability to control the dragon.
The previous coachman still needed to use a whip and reins to command the elephant. Cadillac sat cross-legged on the back of the white elephant, chatting with Danny while using the local language — Valleglia with a grand accent — to order the elephant to turn left, right, move forward, and slow down.
If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't sense any intense mental waves, Danny would have thought that he was a shapeshifter, an elephant spirit.
"Where are you from?" Cadillac asked.
"Braavos. This is my distant relative from the Westeros. He came to join our family because of the war." Danny smiled.
No one doubted her as soon as the words left her mouth, for her Valyrian had a distinct Braavosi accent.
"Sigh, I saw you coming from the east, so I thought …"
The horse-faced young man who had been speaking confidently suddenly became a little depressed.
Danny rolled her eyes and said, "I'm from Braavos, but I did just come back from the east."
"Really?" Cadillac immediately became spirited again. He lowered his voice and said, "Have you seen that woman?"
"Which woman?"
In the evening, the sun set in the west. On the streets near the port, people were as dense as sardines. The strange stench made Danny take out her handkerchief and cover her nose.
Cadillac patted the elephant's back and asked it to slow down. He pointed at the fleet at the west and said with a red face, "The woman they're going to deal with."
"How would I know who they're going to deal with? Just tell me the name." Danny pretended to be confused and asked.
"Sigh, that's someone who can't even be mentioned." The young man climbed behind the elephant and said in a voice that was almost inaudible. "Slaver's Bay, Dragon Queen."
"Oh, it's her." Danny suddenly realized. "But why can't we mention her name?"
Barristan rubbed his nose and turned his head away, leaving the stage to his queen.
"It's not that we can't mention her, but …" Cadillac pointed at the wheel tattoo on his right cheek, the mark that represented the coachman's identity as a slave. He said, "I can't say it, we can't say it. Our master is afraid of hearing that name from us.
So we can only use 'that woman' to replace her.
Even so, we can't say it in front of the local nobles … Sigh, guest, you won't tell my master, will you? "
The young man's long horse face was a little twisted, and there was a hint of fear in his grass-green eyes.
"No, of course not. I'm from Braavos, have you forgotten?" Danny said with a wink.
There were no slaves in Braavos, and they had been raising the banner of anti-slavery.
"That's true." The freckled man breathed a sigh of relief.
Danny asked curiously, "This place is almost three thousand kilometers away from Slaver's Bay. Why is it so … harsh?"
"Sigh, in the beginning, when the news of Astapor came, everyone could still talk about her. But since four months ago, she swept through the Guise Alliance …"
He turned around on the elephant's back and looked around. He found that the streets were full of people, and his face showed hesitation.
"There are a lot of elephant carts nearby. No one is paying attention to us." Danny said.
"Sigh, I can't say anymore." He sighed bitterly.
But in the end, he climbed onto the white elephant's butt and whispered, "Two months ago, the woman brought by the sea merchants defeated the Guise Alliance at Slaver's Bay, and the whole of Volantis was in an uproar. A few days later, inside the black wall … Lord Keheda woke up in the middle of the night and found the butcher at home sharpening a knife under the roof …
I don't know the truth, but early the next morning, the butcher's family was beheaded, smeared with tar, and hung on a spear by the black wall. The passersby on the street below could see it when they looked up. So, do you understand? "
Regardless of whether Danny understood or not, the blonde slave jumped up and stood high on the elephant's back. He pointed to the deep sea in the south and said loudly, "Guest, you don't have to believe it. We Volantis know that even if you sink all the hundreds of islands in Braavos into the harbor, ships can still enter and leave freely. This is the widest and deepest harbor in the world! "
"Yes, we Volantis have the world's first harbor."
The passersby nearby echoed. The Volantis people who stared at him and Danny in confusion also showed a look of realization.
This is a smart lad. This is the kind of person we need to abolish the title!
Danny thought with a smile.
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