Chapter 67: Chapter 67: The Grand Voyage in Another World
For the first few days, Dany stood at the bow of the ship, enjoying the view. She even imitated Jack and Rose, shouting, "I'm the king of the world!"
Of course, she shouted this confidently in Mandarin, standing behind Big Black, unafraid of being overheard.
But as time went on, the endless blue of sea and sky became monotonous, failing to hold her interest.
However, two small events are worth mentioning.
First, the centaurs, sturdy as they were, eventually adapted to the seasickness. Elikiqi often ran to the ship's railing during her free time, grinning foolishly at the dolphins swimming alongside the vessel.
Second, at first, the crew was deeply concerned that the dragons might burn their ship. Blackbeard Grolei, seeing the three dragons circling the main mast, was especially tense, acting as jittery as a young maiden.
He barked orders to the sailors, instructing them to hang buckets of seawater along the ship's sides, using empty barrels, just in case of fire.
But they soon discovered the dragons only breathed fire in two situations: when Dany ordered them to or when presented with fresh food.
With their worries laid to rest, the sailors were astonished to see that wherever the dragons flew, rats would flee in droves.
Later, Dany brought the dragons to the ship's hold. That night, the sailors enjoyed a new dish: oil-braised giant rats.
The rats seemed to lose their minds, darting onto the deck and even jumping into the sea. Across the three ships, a total of 146 rats were caught, the largest weighing nearly half a kilogram.
Dany didn't touch the rat meat, but the centaurs were delighted, enjoying it almost as much as horse meat.
Gradually, the crew began to feel an odd but profound pride whenever they saw the dragons flying above. They often declared, "We are the queen's subjects, fighting and dying under the wings of true dragons, and finding glory in their presence."
While the centaurs loved watching dolphins from the railing, everyone else, from the captain to the galley boys, enjoyed watching the three dragons in flight.
Meanwhile, Dany spent her idle hours in her room practicing the "108-Phoneme Standard Pronunciation Table" she had learned at the House of the Undying. It was the foundation of ancient Valyrian spells.
"Ahaigele—mu," she stumbled over the iron plaque, practicing hesitantly.
The "108-Phoneme Table" only taught her the pronunciation of the spells, leaving their meanings a mystery. Advanced knowledge, such as guiding magic or meditation, was entirely absent.
She didn't even have a complete spell to recite and resorted to reading the runes etched on the identity plaque she had taken from the Dragon King's corpse, akin to a child learning to read phonetics.
Imagine showing a Chinese coin with "zhongguo renmin yinhang" written on it. A native speaker might pause for a moment to process the phrase, even though it's separated into two-character groups by spaces.
The iron plaque Dany held had its symbols and letters in one continuous string. She didn't even know how to place punctuation correctly.
Reading "zhongguorenminyinhang" as one word would confuse anyone unfamiliar with Chinese. This was exactly the challenge Dany faced. Even with the "108-Phoneme Table," she could read "a, b, c, d" but had no idea what it meant or how to use it.
"We've got a problem, Khaleesi," Doreah said, entering the room with a clay pot full of fresh, creamy mare's milk.
The Lysene maid, long accustomed to the sea and the dragons, rarely mingled with the sailors or centaurs on deck.
"What's the problem?" Dany asked casually.
After pouring her a bowl of fresh mare's milk, Doreah sighed and said, "The wind is dying down. Soon, the ship will be dead in the water."
In this world, five seas are integral to human civilization: the Jade Sea to the east; the Summer Sea, south of Essos and accessible through the Qarth Strait; the Shivering Sea, north of Essos; the Narrow Sea, separating Essos and Westeros with an average width of 500 kilometers; and the Sunset Sea, to the far west of Westeros.
Dany's fleet had spent a day passing through the Qarth Strait and had been sailing the Summer Sea for only two days. They were still far from New Ghis, the easternmost city of the Summer Sea, with no sight of Slaver's Bay to the west.
Leaving her room, Dany found Blackbeard Grolei to ask about the situation. He nonchalantly replied, "We've got two rowing ships!"
Initially, Dany hadn't understood why a sailing ship needed so many oars. The Sun of Summer alone had 300 oars.
That afternoon, when the wind completely stopped, Blackbeard gave the order. From the crow's nest of the main mast, a sailor waved a signal flag, and the two narrow ships ahead lowered small boats.
Each boat carried massive coils of thick hemp rope, as thick as Dany's wrist. The boats let out the rope while approaching the larger ships, finally securing the ropes with iron chains at the bow's keel.
At the signal, rhythmic drumming erupted from the two rowing ships. Dany watched as white foam appeared along their sides, created by the vigorous efforts of hundreds of rowers.
"Boom—creak, creak."
The Rope Tightens
The ropes at the front, which had been submerged underwater, suddenly snapped taut, spraying water mist around the hemp lines. The plump-bellied ship shuddered slightly and then groaned as it began to inch forward.
The leading rowing ship was about 60 meters long and 12 meters wide, slender like a plow. In contrast, the ship behind was massive and wide, like a corpulent man with a protruding belly.
At this point, the three ships moved slowly across the endless blue sea, keeping pace with the same drumbeats, resembling three small ants marching across an infinite blue canvas.
"This won't last long," Dany murmured to herself.
"It doesn't need to," Blackbeard replied calmly. "We're not far from the Ghiscar Strait. We can stop at New Ghis and wait out the windless period there."
The old sailor's experience proved accurate. By midday the next day, Big Black, soaring in the sky, brought them a sign of land—a scorched leg of mutton.
By evening, the lookout on the leading rowing ship shouted excitedly: "Jeen Isle ahead!"
Jeen Isle was similar in size to Bear Island, the Mormont family's stronghold, with its longest stretch measuring less than 100 kilometers. However, its value was vastly different. Bear Island was so remote that it might not see a single merchant ship in years.
In contrast, Jeen Isle was located in the middle of the trade route between Slaver's Bay and Qarth. Its southern port, New Ghis, served as a vital resupply stop for ships traveling between the eastern and western continents. It was rightly called the "Pearl of the Eastern Summer Sea."
Blackbeard Grolei also planned to wait for favorable winds there.
"If the Mormonts had held Jeen Isle as their domain, Lady Mormont would never have left," Blackbeard remarked.
"The Ghis don't welcome outsiders to Jeen Isle itself, but the southern port of New Ghis is open to all," he explained to Dany as they stood on the bridge, watching the black speck of the island grow on the horizon. "If we don't dock at the port and merely anchor in the bay, the Ghis won't even charge us taxes."
"Is the taxation in Free Cities that high?" Dany asked.
Blackbeard thought for a moment. "If you're not trading goods locally, they'll only charge a docking fee. The larger the ship and the more space it occupies, the higher the fee.
"For a fleet like ours, docking at New Ghis would cost over ten Golden Honor coins per day—roughly three gold dragons."
"Wow, that's daylight robbery!" Dany exclaimed.
"It's not too steep. That's the standard across major Free Cities," Blackbeard replied, shaking his head. "You might not realize how profitable maritime trade can be.
"Even a mediocre merchant with no extraordinary skills can sail around the 'Summer Sea–Jade Sea' route and earn enough wealth to last a lifetime.
"Profits start at 20 times the initial investment and have no upper limit. Skilled traders buy low and sell high at various ports, often achieving a 100-fold return on investment in a single voyage.
"For those like Zaro or Governor Illyrio, who have special connections, the average gross profit margin is 150 times."
Dany was stunned, as were Jorah and Barristan, their mouths agape.
"Is it really that profitable?" Jorah asked skeptically. "If so, why doesn't everyone become a merchant?"
If he had known maritime trade was so lucrative, the money he spent on his wife's party voyage could have funded multiple trips around the Jade Sea!
Blackbeard chuckled, stomping his foot on the wooden deck with a thud. "Do you know how much this ship of mine cost?"
"I've built ships before," Jorah replied with a smirk, sizing up the vessel. "I once spent 2,000 gold dragons on a large ship, about a third the size of this one. I've heard the largest warship in King's Landing costs as much as 100,000 gold dragons to build. Yours isn't a warship, so it couldn't cost more than 30,000 gold dragons."
Blackbeard raised a thumb in approval. "An experienced eye! The Cedurion cost 28,000 gold dragons to build."
Jorah grinned with pride.
"But do you know the loss rate for merchant ships?" Blackbeard continued. "Out of every 100 ships that set sail, if 80 return, merchants celebrate and offer donations to temples in thanks. If 70 come back, they sigh with relief and count their profits. If only 50 return, they grit their teeth and build new ships.
"If none return, they write their wills and drink poison to end it all.
"For an ordinary trader, losing a ship like mine would be devastating."
A heavy silence fell over the bridge as everyone contemplated the harsh realities of life at sea.
"Every year, the number of merchants who commit suicide is equal to those who strike it rich overnight," Blackbeard said, breaking the silence. "Take Governor Illyrio, for example. When he was young, he was just a street thug risking his neck. Pickpocketing, burglary, assassinations—he did it all.
"Now, imagine how someone like him climbed to the top and became a trade governor. How did others make way for him? They failed in business, of course!"
(End of Chapter)
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