"This is a true story that happened in Pentos," Viserys said, holding a thin storybook and beginning to narrate. "It's written in the book. The events took place in the harbor of Pentos, and the author had to go to great lengths to learn about it from a friend. This friend insisted on remaining anonymous, so I will not mention the names of anyone involved."
"One night, a heavy knock came at my friend's door. When he opened it, he saw his childhood friend, who was in a hurry and looked terrified, begging him for help to save his life.
My friend was a warm-hearted, righteous person. Hearing such a plea from a childhood companion, he unhesitatingly invited him in and asked for an explanation.
His friend claimed that his life was under threat: the insurance company that provided insurance contracts for merchant ships in the harbor had murdered his father, the captain himself, his uncle, the first mate, and his uncle, the partner of the merchant ship, in order to avoid paying out their shipwreck insurance.
As everyone knows, the Free City-States insurance companies are known for operating on commercial integrity. If it were not from his childhood friend, my friend would definitely have thought this accusation was the nonsense of a drunkard or the ravings of a madman.
According to his friend, his family's merchant ship was originally scheduled to sail from Pentos to the Summer Islands for trade. They had sailed this route countless times. Buying insurance contracts from the insurance company in Pentos was just a routine to ensure their safety.
But something happened on this voyage. During the journey, their ship unfortunately encountered a hurricane. The merchant ship hit a reef in the raging waves, the keel broke, and the ship shattered. The broken hull held on for half a day before sinking into the sea, along with all the cargo. Most of the crew were killed or injured. The survivors drifted at sea for four whole days on lifeboats and small boats before being rescued by a passing merchant ship."
Having suffered such misfortune, his friend's family had suffered a great loss. The only thing they could rely on was the shipwreck insurance they had purchased before setting sail.
Anyone with common sense knew that when it came to actually executing contracts signed between merchant ships and insurance companies, it often took a long time to verify. After all, ships at sea were unsupervised, and one couldn't simply take the insured's word for it. Insurance companies needed a complex process to ensure they weren't being defrauded. Therefore, it was normal for the insured and the insurance company to engage in long-term negotiations, which often lasted from a month to even a year.
They, too, had prepared for a long negotiation. Since their home wasn't in the port, after the initial preliminary negotiations, the task of waiting for the insurance company's reply was handed over to his friend's uncle. But during this time of negotiation with the insurance company, his friend's uncle suddenly met with an accident in the city and died.
At first, they didn't think it was murder. The reason for his friend's uncle's accidental death was very clear: he had fallen into a water channel and drowned after getting drunk in a tavern at night. In Pentos, such things happened every year. City Watch soldiers always fished out drunken fools who had drowned in the water channels that flowed through the city during their morning patrols. So they didn't think much of it, and simply had his friend's uncle continue the previous process of negotiating with the insurance company.
Two weeks later, another accident occurred. His friend's uncle also drowned in a water channel in the city, the cause being the same as his friend's uncle's death. The City Watch reported it to them as a common case of drowning after falling into a water channel due to drunkenness.
At this point, his friend's father began to have doubts. He knew his brother well and knew that his brother was a meticulous person who would never have such an accident. So he told his son, the friend who came to me tonight seeking help, about his suspicions and worries.
Because there was no evidence, the insurance company's procedures were still proceeding as usual. After much deliberation, his friend's father, after making preparations, still came to the city to continue negotiating with the insurance company.
His friend's father had connections. After entering the city, he stayed in a gang area, always accompanied by two crew members. He chose to negotiate with the insurance company during the day and in safe places, didn't drink alcohol, and didn't go out at night.
But even so, one night two weeks later, the father of my friend's friend met with an accident.
It was the second day after a storm from the Narrow Sea landed in the port of Pentos. Two days and nights of torrential rain caused floodwaters to surge into the city. The low-lying port area suffered severe damage, with many warehouses and houses collapsing under the attack of the wind and water, resulting in countless deaths and injuries among the populace.
Needless to say, the father of my friend's friend also died in this disaster. According to surviving crew members, the experienced old captain was unfortunately pinned by a collapsing building during the disaster, unable to free himself, and was ultimately drowned by the floodwaters that had poured into the city.
This was an accident, everyone said so.
My friend's friend was now the heir to the insurance contract.
The insurance company still informed my friend's friend to go through the procedures, but he didn't dare to go, because the previous accident made him suspect the insurance company.
This was the story my friend heard.
Upon hearing this bizarre account, although his friend was emphatic, my friend didn't fully believe it. My friend arranged for his friend to be placed in a safe place, sent people to investigate the matter, and personally came forward to negotiate with the insurance company on his behalf.
As my friend had predicted, the reputable insurance company hadn't engaged in any underhanded dealings and had been fulfilling its contracts according to procedure. Furthermore, no signs of murder had been found in the deaths of his friend's three elders.
His friend's actions seemed like a farce.
Weeks passed, and everything remained normal, or so my friend began to think.
But soon, an unexpected incident occurred.
One day, a servant rushed in to inform my friend that the friend he'd been hiding in his secret courtyard had unexpectedly died.
"He took the maid who was caring for him swimming in the sea, insisting he could breathe underwater," the servants told my friend. "His foot got caught in seaweed, and by the time the maid called us to pull him out, he was already dead, his belly full of seawater."
This news caught my friend off guard. Hearing about it was one thing, but having it happen in his immediate circle was another.
One after another, his friend's family had died by accidental drowning. Being well-traveled, he couldn't help but think of the bizarre stories he'd heard during his youth. So he immediately set off for the temple of the Red God, to report the matter to the priests who served the deity.
Upon hearing the news, the temple quickly dispatched a Red Priest to investigate.
The Red Priest immediately determined that something was amiss upon seeing the body. He sternly ordered my friend to purify the corpse with fire, including the previous three deceased individuals, all of whom were to be cremated.
"It's a curse," the Red Priest declared, then commanded that all the dead person's belongings be brought to him for examination.
Only then did my friend realize that his friends had been carrying a bag of gifts to bribe and smooth things over, and this bag had been passed around between the four deceased.
The Red Priest eventually found a pearl necklace among the belongings, with an ink-like stain on the largest pearl.
"This pearl is stained with tainted blood," said the Red Priest. "Everyone who has touched this pearl must come with me to be saved."
Even my well-traveled friend had never experienced anything like this before. He sent the maidservants and the caretakers to the temple, and the matter was finally settled.
Having witnessed such a bizarre event, my friend couldn't help but ask the Red Priest: "Are curses real?"
The answer was: "Of course."
He asked again, "Since there are such insidious curses in the world, how should we deal with them?"
The Red Priest told him, "Believe in the Lord of Light. Come to the temple, where the flames will purify all, and you will be protected. The long night is dark, and dangers abound!"
From then on, every night, when the Red Priests ignited the flames in the temple and chanted their prayers, my friend would join them, offering prayers to the Red God, beseeching R'hllor to grant them dawn."
Viserys chuckled at the coincidence as he read this, just as the chanting prayers of the Red Priests lighting the night fires outside the high walls reached him.
Daenerys asked, puzzled, "What is it?"
"A rather clumsy sermon story, isn't it?" Viserys replied. It was immediately apparent from the storybook in his hand that it originated from the Red God's temple. It had been specifically compiled for preaching purposes, containing many short stories. The parables varied widely, but they were essentially of a few types: showcasing the benefits - the protagonist gained wealth and avoided disaster because of their faith in the Lord of Light; showcasing intimidation - the protagonist suffered misfortune because they did not believe the Red God's instructions; and then there were the bizarre stories, which were the ones Viserys was most interested in. These stories had poor narrative quality, and the solutions were often deus ex machina, but because they were recorded in the preaching storybooks, Viserys paid them extra attention.
The non-narrative content described in these stories was very detailed and realistic, including how believers of the Red God worshiped, how they made offerings, the rituals for entering the temple, the way the priests worshiped, and even the time and manner in which temple prostitutes offered alms to believers.
From this, it could be seen that these bizarre stories might not be just stories, but ways to educate believers on how to deal with such strange events.
"What's next?" Daenerys asked. Although she wasn't interested in the story, she was still cooperative in asking her brother. Over these days, she had to adapt to this new way of getting along. Viserys had been particularly relaxed these days, as if he would no longer get angry about anything, and acted like he was going to stay here for a long time. He was unhurried and enjoyed sharing the novel stories he had found with her.
It was difficult for Daenerys to discern her brother Viserys's true feelings from his words, and even when he did show emotion, she wasn't sure if it was genuine. She had a feeling that Viserys was secretly interested in the story, even though he downplayed it. But she wasn't certain.
"That's it," Viserys said, "Let's take a break. My mouth is dry from talking."
They were in Illyrio's courtyard garden, in a gazebo overlooking the golden, shimmering view of the Narrow Sea at dusk. Desserts and drinks were laid out on the table, and the cool, gentle sea breeze caressed Viserys's face, making him feel relaxed and content.
Daenerys quietly glanced up at her brother, who was standing in the wind with a relaxed expression, and silently closed her mouth.
More than half a month had passed. With good food, drink, and diligent exercise every day at Illyrio's, Viserys's physique had visibly filled out, no longer resembling his previous gaunt appearance. The natural firmness and confidence in his expression made him look radiant, a stark contrast to the brother Daenerys remembered.
Only Daenerys remained thin and burdened with worries. She couldn't understand what had happened to her brother, nor could she comprehend his composure in Illyrio's courtyard.
Since Daenerys's legs had healed, her brother took her everywhere with him every day, talking to her and telling her new stories. His attitude towards her had become increasingly better. But the closer she got to her brother, the less she could understand his calmness and changes. Daenerys had tried to ask several times, but Viserys's answers were vague, always changing the subject. She gradually came to clearly feel the perfunctory attitude beneath her brother's superficial closeness, which made her uneasy.
Lost in thought, Daenerys couldn't help but glance up at her brother Viserys, who was gazing at the Narrow Sea in the gentle sea breeze with a relaxed posture. Then, she followed his gaze towards the ocean in the twilight.
....
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