Qyburn noticed the unquestionable tone in Aegor's voice and closed his mouth.
Yesterday, he had seen the learned and kind side of the Night's Watch Commander. Today, he saw his autocratic side. Of course, autocratic here was not entirely pejorative. Refusing advice was indeed a terrible trait most of the time, but if the person who insisted on their opinion made decisions based on sufficient reason and sharp judgment, and these decisions were ultimately proven correct, then being unaffected by others could instead lead to greatness.
Whether to melt the sword or not was entirely a personal matter, not a matter of principle, let alone right or wrong. However, after a moment's thought, Qyburn sensed more from Aegor's final words. The Commander seemed to look down on Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters.
No, that was not right. Rather than looking down, it was more like arrogance. His boss, the supreme Commander of the Night's Watch, seemed to believe that he would become more famous than the founder of the Targaryen dynasty, the Conqueror who united the Seven Kingdoms.
Was this arrogance or confidence?
The answer would most likely be revealed by time.
They weaved through the crowded streets. Because Daenerys had recently ridden her dragon over King's Landing to display her power, the great deterrence of dragonflame meant there were far fewer residents seeking refuge in the city than during ordinary wars. The mouth of the Blackwater Rush was certainly much warmer than the Gift, but winter had fully arrived after all, and being closer to the river and sea meant higher humidity, making the human experience less comfortable. However, the good news was that the stench that usually enveloped this city of the Seven Kingdoms was much less noticeable than he remembered. He wondered, among the three reasons, some residents being scared away by Daenerys, the drop in temperature, and industries starting to build latrines, which contributed the most.
A few ragged beggars huddled by the streetside. Because of the cold weather, the children who used to run around barefoot were nowhere to be seen. They left the square, turned into Steel Street, and began riding up the long Visenya's Hill along the path. Along the way, there were blacksmiths working in front of their forges, but there were far fewer customers haggling. The reason was simple, currently, all the shops on Steel Street were forging military supplies for King Stannis's army and were not taking private jobs.
The higher they rode, the grander the blacksmith shops appeared. Hierarchy also existed in this trade, similar to the rules elsewhere in King's Landing. The better the skill, the higher the status, and the higher the altitude of the shop. The person they were looking for lived at the top of the nearly hundred-meter-high hill, running a massive armory built of wood and plaster, with floors high enough to overlook the narrow alleys below.
The two large doors of the shop were made of ebony and weirwood, carved with a hunting scene. A pair of stone-carved knights guarded either side of the entrance, clad in wildly shaped red steel armor, in the forms of a griffin and a unicorn respectively.
Aegor was not the only visitor. Several horses were already tied to the wooden post by the entrance, and someone stood guard nearby, even holding a long, dark flag. Seeing that the best parking spot was taken, he could only choose to lead his men to tie their horses on the other side of the entrance. After leaving one person there as well, he walked toward the shop doors.
Before even entering, he heard the sound of quarreling coming from inside the shop.
"Lord, this equipment is reserved for the commanders of King Stannis's army, you really cannot take it!"
"Aren't armor and weapons meant to be used once they are made? Once we are equipped, we will also be defending the Seven Kingdoms for His Majesty Stannis, so why cannot we buy them? Name your price, however much it is, not a single copper will be short!"
"It is not about the money, Lord... If we violate His Majesty the King's order, we common folk could lose our heads!"
When entering the city, Aegor had already sent someone ahead to announce their arrival, so the shop's female attendant immediately guessed their identity upon seeing the group in black clothes and quickly announced loudly, "Mr. Mott, the Night's Watch Commander has arrived!"
Aegor stepped through the doors at this moment and was annoyed to find he seemed to have stumbled into a dispute, immediately feeling a headache. Inside the shop's sales hall, which was filled with weapons and armor either hanging or displayed, several clearly unwelcome visitors were cornering a man who was slightly short but not thin. The surrounded man wore a black velvet coat with a hammer pattern embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread and a heavy silver chain around his neck with a sapphire the size of a pigeon's egg, clearly not an ordinary shop employee.
Combined with the few words he had heard before entering, it was easy to figure out what was happening. Someone was trying to forcibly buy some non-sale goods but was being refused by the staff, and the two sides were arguing. And Aegor had just happened to appear at this moment with Nina, Melisandre, Qyburn, and a group of guards, interrupting this attempted forced purchase.
The reason for his headache was not that he was afraid of trouble, but because Aegor truly did not have the time or inclination to play the hero right now. Tobho's blacksmith shop was number one in King's Landing, constantly forging equipment for royalty, the Hand, and other important figures. Those who dared to cause trouble here were definitely not common folk. And he himself planned to finish his business quickly and leave the city through the King's Gate the same way he came, board the blackbird before dark, sail down the river, and return to the Gift with a ship full of saltpeter. If he got into trouble for no reason, he was not afraid of being bullied given his large group and the presence of a witch, but if it delayed his departure from the city, not to mention the hassle of finding a place to stay overnight, the precious day's time wasted would be irrecoverable.
Unfortunately, the person he was looking for on this trip was the owner of this shop, so turning around and leaving was impossible. For now, he could only hope that bringing these tall, well-armed Night's Watch soldiers could control the situation and that the other party would be reasonable.
The surrounded shop staff member, seeing Aegor enter with a large group, broke free from the troublesome people surrounding him as if they were a lifeline and ran toward them. And perhaps deterred by the presence of the Night's Watch group, the troublemakers did not stop him and let him leave, turning their attention to the new visitors flooding through the doors.
Aegor, being stared at by several pairs of eyes, also quickly sized up the other party. Leading them was a young nobleman with golden-red hair, wearing a black satin cloak with a star pattern. A purple lightning bolt streaked across a night sky was embroidered on his chest. Aegor could not remember which family's sigil it was. Following this noble were a lanky, freckled red-haired boy, a burly man with a dagger and a longsword hanging from his belt, and a slightly stout, tall red-robed man.
Aegor did not recognize any of these people, but the last man immediately caught his attention. In this world, due to the expense of high-quality dyes, very few people wore brightly colored clothes. He had only seen such a striking red robe as the one on this fellow in front of him on Melisandre and Moqorro, who was with Daenerys.
Who was this, another Red God priest?
Aegor looked at the Red Priestess beside him with a questioning gaze, but saw that she did not need prompting. She was already frowning intently at the red-robed man opposite them and spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"Thoros of Myr, what are you doing here?"
(To be continued.)