Chapter 22.6- The Seadragon's Roar

They were wise enough to drop anchors soon after. Destroying the ships would have taken very little effort from Igneel and I. We flew downwards again, once it was clear they would not be hostile. This was a risk, but one that we were going to take with some care. Just bring the ships out of hand didn’t sit well with me. For one, having the Stepstones become infamous for not letting people through could hurt us in the short term. There was no guarantee that we would even manage to gain the trust of the people to sail through these waters over time. It was the only route that didn’t involve expensively going around Westeros or Essos for both the free cities and the Iron throne.

When we were low enough that I could see the ship at eye level, we flew forward and then began to suspend ourselves right in front of the lead ship with slow flaps.

“My name is Laenor Velaryon of House Velaryon. Who are you? Who do you represent? And what business brings you to these waters?” I asked.

One man sauntered forward from the crew. He had olive skin like most of his crew, pointing them out as most likely Dornish.

“I am Icarus Jordayne of the Tor. Lord of House Jordayne and Master of the Tor.”

“Now on to what business you have with these waters, my lord”

“Simply seeking passage across my Lord, we have goods that we seek to trade with the merchants of Tyrosh.”

“Tyrosh, huh? Seems like a strange destination for a pair of Dornish ships.”

“We simply seek to trade some famed Dornish red for some of those Tyroshi dyes and Myrish laces. My wife does love them so.” I looked at them again.

“Pardon me if I find it hard to believe a Lord like yourself is playing merchant” I accused, being markedly more confrontational that I had wanted to be. There was just something that did not sit right with me here.

“Does your Father not do the same oft enough? Just following the footsteps of the Seasnake himself. Surely you will not begrudge me that much. Besides, my wife is a woman of particular tastes so it’s for the best if I do the shopping myself.” I watched him as he spoke, unable to see any falsehoods in his words, but still feeling something wrong regardless.

“I’ll see the cargo” I said next.

“Of course. You’re welcome down in the ship, my Lord”

“I wasn’t born yesterday” I scoffed. Like I’d dismount on to a Dornish ship of all places. Icarus Jordayne just smiled and shrugged, more in a ’you got me’ way than anything else.

“Bring one of the casks up” Her ordered a deck hand who quickly disappeared beneath the surface.

“Not one, all of them” I said.

“That would be impossible, my lord. We don’t have the deck space, you see?”

“Twenty then. If you other ships have the same cargo, have them do the same” I said, settling to wait.