Chapter 135: Dragonzel's Five Fingers
Silverblood Tower, Five Fingers Hall.
The hall was small, with five dark pillars surrounding the long table, and the windowless room was lit only by the quiet burning of candles, illuminating the faces of everyone at the table. Dragonzel sat at the head, hands crossed, propping up his chin, silently sorting out the tasks to be done during this period. Five finger-shaped gemstones of different colors were placed at different positions on the long table, waiting for the arrival of their representatives.
The handsome, silver-haired youth, Aslan Rondell, dressed in a silver and red robe, quietly walked to the Blood Finger and lit the candelabra beside his seat. The candlelight flickered, illuminating the family crest on Aslan's chest: on a red background, three silver ouroboros encircled a silver lion's head, gazing at the bright candlelight. As a crucial general under Dragonzel, the Blood Finger, a Bloodsworn Brother, and the hereditary vassal of House Varezes, Aslan Rondell held an extraordinary position among Dragonzel's retainers. After the surrender of Dorne, the Rondell Family was granted a large territory in the Yronwood Valley. Aslan also built two castles on his land: Silverlion Keep as the main seat, and Ouroboros Castle as a military fortress. However, these two castles are currently administered by agents appointed by Dragonzel, while Aslan focuses on serving in Dragon's Nest City.
Dragonzel's current attendants, the 15-year-old black-haired youth Reville Haiton, Earl of Skybridge City, and the 14-year-old Quintin Manwoody, Earl of Kingsgrave, deftly poured wine for Aslan and served sweets such as fried nuts and small cakes. After completing all this, the two youths silently retreated into the shadows, preparing to serve drinks to the next Finger member.
"Will Hofa be late too?" Seeing that he was the only one present for a long time, Aslan couldn't help but chuckle. In his impression, Hofa was always the first to arrive and the last to leave during previous meetings. But for some reason, he hadn't arrived earlier than himself today? Or perhaps none of the other Fingers had arrived, which was too strange.
"Hofa and Tigaro went together to wait for a reply from Tarth." Dragonzel picked up the light wine Reville had just poured for him and took a small sip. "Sebastian has blockaded Lannisport. Those fellows whose brains were eaten by their ancestors can only escape through the Stormlands."
"Your Highness, if you ask me, we should just let Ago release his khalasar." Aslan still couldn't get over the fact that someone dared to steal a dragon near Dragon's Nest City. "The Dothraki horses are fast; their lords in the Stormlands wouldn't even react. If we had sent the cavalry out directly that day, they would have been captured long ago." Aslan took a sip of wine, speaking indignantly.
"And then?" Dragonzel said with a smile. "Wait for Borros Baratheon to bring his two daughters and stay in Summerhall, not leaving? Every day, besides plotting how to marry off his daughters and send them to Aegon's bed, he'd run to me crying and shouting that we were bullying House Baratheon? I can't just let Vermithor burn all the Stormlands nobles with a single dragon flame, can I?"
"Alas." Aslan naturally knew this was unrealistic and could only sigh softly. He had to wait for the other Fingers to arrive before reporting the current state of the Silver Blood Army. For a moment, Five Fingers Hall fell silent, with only the whispers of the two youths. However, upon sensing the sudden quiet in the hall, the two young attendants also dared not whisper anymore and quickly covered each other's mouths.
"You two should talk about yours." Dragonzel looked at his two attendants, and couldn't help but think of his previous attendant. If Jacaerys were still here... Alas, forget it, don't think about it so much.
The young attendants quickly pretended to be busy, and indeed seemed very busy. Quintin was busy separating plates and wine glasses one by one, while Reville was busy pouring wine into the glasses and arranging small snacks on each plate.
Just then, the door of Five Fingers Hall creaked open, and Hofa, with black hair and golden eyes, walked in first, standing beside the Iron Finger. "Your Highness, I am late. Please punish me."
"The meeting only begins when all of you are here. Sit down, you are not late." Dragonzel explained somewhat helplessly. If he didn't explain that Hofa wasn't late, Hofa would keep asking him to punish him, and then the meeting definitely wouldn't be able to start.
Only then did Hofa meticulously light the candelabra at his seat and sit down squarely. The candlelight illuminated his crest: on a silver background, a golden hand held a golden scale. As Dragonzel's important minister, Hofa also had his own fief. After the Dance of the Dragons, the Lawful Family was granted a large territory in the Reach. Hofa let his younger brother, Adams the Law-Holder, inherit this territory and built a sturdy castle called "Scale Keep," while he himself stayed by Dragonzel's side, serving as his important minister and personal guard. Following behind him were Sebastian Blaze and Tigaro Dagareon.
Sebastian, whose crest was a twisted flame on a deep blue background, expertly lit the candelabra beside the Golden Finger, and as he sat down, he nodded to Reville, who was serving him food and drink.
Tigaro sat beside him, his chest adorned with a complex crest composed of a chalice, a winged serpent, and teardrops. These two are now also great nobles under Dragonzel. The Blazefire Family obtained the Starshuttle City territory, with the much older Gonsor Fire-Bringer serving as the Earl of Starshuttle City. The Dagareon Family was granted the former Highgarden of the Reach. Tigaro broke ground on the original site of Highgarden, preparing to build a more spacious and comfortable castle called "Tear Keep."
As Ray closed the door and lit the candelabra beside the Silver Finger, the five fingers and five candelabras together illuminated the long table, which was carved with maps of Westeros and Essos.
"Alright, everyone, everyone is here." Dragonzel surveyed his Five Fingers, motioned for the two attendants to leave, and then again crossed his hands, propping up his chin. "Tigaro, you speak first."
Tigaro nodded, pushing his obsidian finger into the groove in front of him. A magical scene appeared: the obsidian finger immediately glowed with a faint light. "Your Highness, Lord Evening Star of Tarth has replied. He thoroughly investigated all ships entering and exiting the port and did not find any suspicious silver-haired, purple-eyed individuals. Only a few merchant ships from Lys and Volantis had sailors with such appearances, but their captains all insisted that these were old sailors they had always had on board, and these few ships had indeed just entered port."
"Then those dragon thieves are probably on those ships." Hofa said. "Your Highness, I request that Lord Aslan speak." Hofa looked at Aslan beside him. With Dragonzel's approval, Aslan could directly mobilize the Silver Fleet to intercept those merchant ships.
"Your Highness, my suggestion is to continue observing." Tigaro motioned to Hofa not to be so anxious. He slowly explained, "Ships leaving Tarth for different ports will have different routes. We only need to track the ships heading to Dragonstone to find the dragon thieves. There's no need to use the Silver Fleet. Moreover, Your Highness also promised to use Vermithor to hunt down those dragon thieves. Everyone knows that ravens are faster than ships, and dragons are faster than ravens. What's more, someone has already set sail to pursue them."
"Who?" Aslan asked with some curiosity. He remembered there were no records of Silver Fleet ship movements.
"The knight Valarr just knighted, what was his name, Hugh, I think." Ray recalled for a moment and said, "He and his team took leave and volunteered to pursue the dragon thieves."
"Where did they get a ship?" Aslan was still very confused.
"One of his team's cavalrymen is named Dennis, and that fellow's wife is a captain, the kind with several ships under her." Tigaro replied. "Among those ships is a large sailboat called the 'Mouse'. It used to be an old, worn-out flat-bottomed merchant ship. The woman named Marda from Hull Town, after arriving in Lannisport, sold her three large ships and bought a large sailboat built in the Lannisport shipyard, continuing to name it the 'Mouse'. That ship is a very fast ship. I've assigned an assistant maester with ravens to their ship. As soon as the dragon thieves' whereabouts are discovered, we will know the news immediately."
"When they return, I will reward them." Dragonzel nodded. "Continue, Tigaro, do you have any other intelligence?"
"The Archon of Lys, Lisandro Rogare, is sailing towards Lannisport with his family." Tigaro said unhurriedly. "According to current intelligence, they are most likely coming to request mediation for their war with the Iron Islands. Nine days ago, Dalton Greyjoy captured six of Lys's subsidiary towns, burning the coastal mangroves and those towns to the ground. In addition, Lys's fleet was also defeated by the Iron Fleet, but the overall casualties were not large."
"What day are they expected to arrive?" Dragonzel calculated that, at the speed of a fast ship, the Lys ship would likely arrive after the provisional Kingsguard selection.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, my people have already scouted their ships." Tigaro said. "They will arrive after your scheduled time."
Dragonzel looked at Tigaro. He knew that his old friend's heart was definitely not as calm as it appeared on the surface. Back then, Tigaro's family was also a major banking family in Lys, and it was precisely because of the Rogare Family's squeeze that Tigaro's family was ruined and he himself almost ended up in Lys's pleasure district.
However, Tigaro can now look at these matters very calmly. According to him, what he wants more is how to squeeze more value out of the Rogare Family and let the Varezes Family gain greater benefits.
After Tigaro's speech, the silver-haired young man retrieved his obsidian finger. The next to be placed in the groove and glow was Ray's sterling silver finger.
He was to report on the situation of the dragon's lair and the dragons.
"Brother, this period of observation is over." Ray took out a thick booklet. "I've written down all the detailed contents, and there's good news."
"Why aren't you telling me the good news quickly? What are you waiting for?" Dragonzel smiled and straightened up.
"Candellight laid an egg."
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