After two or three months of arduous negotiations, Gohor agreed to transfer ten thousand prisoners to Braavos.
In return, Braavos agreed to pay the Targaryen royal house a total of three million gold dragons over a period of ten years.
In addition, each soldier would be "discounted" at seven bushels of grain.
Koren was once again put in charge of the prisoner transfer and the negotiation process.
He first traveled by ship to Pentos, where more than a hundred warships from the expedition were anchored in the harbor.
No matter how Viserys tried to entice them, the Pentoshi merchant governors simply did not dare to detain the Braavosi fleet.
Gohor was located inland, while Pentos sat on the coast.
If they dared to seize Braavos's ships, they would have to face the wrath of the Sea Lord's Palace directly.
In any case, returning the fleet would at least preserve a shred of Freygo's dignity.
To further emphasize that Pentos had been forced by Viserys into opposing Braavos against its will, the merchant governors even arranged for Audro to come out personally to receive the delegation.
With Viserys's backing, Audro was no longer a puppet at their mercy, and he demanded that the merchant governors accompany him as well.
Thus, a strange scene unfolded in the harbor of Pentos: the Pentoshi, who had technically emerged on the victorious side, were instead fawning obsequiously.
There was no helping it. A war more than a hundred years earlier had utterly shattered their courage.
In the campaign against Gohor, Braavos had lost, yet it had still demonstrated formidable military strength.
This forced the governors—men who thought of nothing but profit all day—to carefully consider whether they truly dared to strut about wearing the laurels of victory.
Koren looked at the warships in the harbor and said with some displeasure,
"That is our fleet. Where have the sails on those ships gone?"
"Envoy, we were originally preparing to seal your city's warships away, but Viserys—"
Illyrio was about to explain when Audro spoke up bluntly, "His Majesty Viserys said he was borrowing them for the time being."
At once, the atmosphere froze. Only the crashing of the waves and the cries of seabirds could be heard.
Audro's words were cold and blunt, like a slap of ice amid a crowd of eager smiles, and they sounded especially harsh.
For a moment, Audro became the focus of everyone present.
The powerful governors turned to look at him, anger and contempt flickering in their eyes.
They had not expected that a man who once bent to their every whim would dare to offend an honored guest.
The stick-thin governor who had once cuckolded Audro was just about to speak up and scold him, when another governor grabbed his arm.
The meaning was clear: Audro now belonged to Viserys.
They could not defeat Braavos, and they could not defeat Gohor either.
Pentos lived by trade. If they angered Viserys and he cut off their overland trade routes, the losses would be enormous.
"Well, envoy, we did suggest that he write to ask His Majesty Freygo for instructions, but—"
That governor spread his hands innocently, taking the opportunity to stir trouble. It had nothing to do with him.
"Hmph! Viserys!"
Koren could not be rude to Audro, whether or not he truly held power, and could only toss out that resentful remark.
His main purpose this trip was to retrieve part of the prisoners, including Tormo and Quairo.
He also knew exactly who had orchestrated the scheme of driving wolves to devour tigers in Gohor, so he did not make things difficult for these governors.
Since he did not ask, the governors wisely refrained from lodging further complaints.
Viserys had not only taken the sails; he had taken everything from the warships that could be removed.
After Koren left the harbor, the stick-thin governor leaned close to Audro's ear and threatened him in a low voice,
"Don't think that just because you have that Targaryen backing you're any different from before. You're still you—a useless piece of trash who couldn't even protect his wife's first night."
Having it thrown in his face so directly, Audro felt as though his heart and lungs were being scorched by fire.
"Is that so? Soon I'll control the largest fleet in Pentos. You'd better keep a close eye on your merchant ships."
Audro shot back without backing down.
"Warships? Where would you get warships from?"
The stick-thin governor was both shocked and furious, his pale face losing even more color.
"Dragonstone."
Earlier, Viserys had sold Freygo a batch of converted merchant vessels and aging warships, nearly fifty in total.
Gohor now possessed close to a hundred ships.
Dragonstone still retained several dozen more.
In the future, those dozens of warships would be stationed in Pentos's harbor.
At present, Pentos itself had no more than ten warships.
Audro could use these warships to establish his authority, while Viserys could have him maintain them on his behalf.
At the same time, Viserys would also base his own merchant ships in Pentos.
With Pentos's excellent geographical position, once printing technology was realized, Viserys would be able to exchange sheets of paper for the gold of Westerosi lords.
Viserys would gain an outlet to the sea, and Audro would gain influence in both military and trade.
In short, it was a partnership in which both Viserys and Audro stood to benefit.
Hearing Audro speak this way, the stick-thin governor's expression immediately changed.
After a long while, he finally forced out an ugly smile.
"Your Highness, I was only joking just now. I recently bought some female slaves, and two of them I paid dearly for from Yunkai.
They know nine kinds of spring cries. I was just about to present them to you—"
A merchant's posture was always remarkably flexible.
Seeing the governor grovel like this, Audro recalled the letter Viserys had once sent him.
It filled him with confidence about his future.
After that, Audro did not see Koren again. Instead, the powerful governors arranged a private meeting with him.
Their main goal, of course, was to clear up the "misunderstanding."
"Envoy Koren, you know how it was. At the time, our army was also cut off from food and water.
We had no choice but to submit to Viserys's coercion. And those who killed Braavosi soldiers were mainly the mercenaries—"
Illyrio did his best to explain, hoping to secure Braavos's understanding.
This time, Koren's mission was not only to ransom men, but also to repair relations with Pentos.
While it was unlikely they would challenge Viserys militarily in the future, they could restrict the export of iron, armor, and weapons to slow the growth of the Targaryens.
After all, Braavos and Pentos were both old-established city-states.
Old city-states enjoyed advantages in population and technology.
"We can join forces to raise prices and make that bastard king pay at least double," Koren said, producing a list Freygo had given him.
"And we've already investigated. Viserys slipped his fleet away while the Volantenes weren't paying attention. Volantis is also willing to ally with us."
When Koren brought this news, the governors all broke into smiles.
After all, Viserys had swindled a massive amount of supplies from them, and a month earlier they had paid five hundred thousand gold dragons and tens of thousands of bushels of grain just to ransom their army.
No one could remain indifferent to losses of that magnitude.
"We must teach that little king a lesson!"
"That's right! Teach him a lesson!"
The governors spoke with righteous indignation, as if Viserys were some heinous villain.
Seeing that the mood had been sufficiently stirred, Koren continued,
"But this would only slow him down. It would not avenge our soldiers. Beyond that, we have also decided to ally with the Dothraki and jointly encircle and destroy Gohor!"
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