Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 121: R + L = J

—In Meereen—

With Daenerys's flight from Meereen following the Sons of the Harpy attack, the task of governing fell to Jon Connington and Daenerys' trusted advisors Missandei and Grey Worm. Following Drogon's disappearance and the Golden Company's arrival, the sellsword company quietly patrolled the streets with the Unsullied. Tensions remained high once word reached Connington of the slave masters of Astapor, Yunkai and Volantis formed an alliance with the intention of laying siege to Meereen and reinstall slavery.

"Still at war, one in the shadows and the other set to lay siege at a moment's notice. The slave masters retook Astapor and Yunkai, returning the whole of Slaver's Baay outside of Meereen," the former Lord of Griffin's Roost realized. "With our fleets burned, we cannot engage them in naval warfare unless the other dragons are released from their confinements before the slaver alliance attacks us. Even the Golden Company's archers, elephants and trebuchets simply cannot reach them."

"We are searching for the men who burned the ships, but nobody saw anything," Grey Worm noted.

"And the dragons?"

Missandei raised her head slightly, yet slightly averted her eyes. "They are not eating," she answered. "They haven't touched any food since Queen Daenerys left."

"Dragons don't do well in captivity," Connington scoffed.

"How do you know this?" she asked.

"When Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros, he had a much smaller army yet three large dragons: Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes. Each one ranged over hundreds of miles before finally invading and unified six of the seven kingdoms in the War of Conquest. Six out of seven; the world came to understand the full might the Targaryen dragons wielded. Aegon Targaryen changed the rules. That's why every man, woman and child alive in Westeros still knows his name 300 years after his death." He explained before taking a sip of wine from his goblet unconcerned. "But after the unification under Targaryen rule, they chained up their dragons and confined them in pens. As such, their power and size waned drastically until the last were no larger than cats a century and a half later... before the Dance of the Dragons civil war wiped them out until Daenerys came into possession of three petrified dragon eggs. If the dragons beneath the Great Pyramid remain in confinement, they'll end up wasting away like their ancient brethren."

"If a dragon does not want to eat, how do you force him to eat?" asked Grey Worm.

Connington hummed and looked at Missandei. "Tell me, child, how many times were you in the company of these dragons? Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion?" he asked.

"Many times," she answered.

"And during such moments, did they ever harm you?"

"Never."

"Well, there lies your answer, Grey Worm," he remarked. "Dragons are more intelligent than people give them credit for according to some maesters back home. They're loyal to friends who've earned their trust and dangerous to their enemies who threaten them. The more they eat, the larger they will grow. And the larger they grow, the more they'll eat. Once we've proven to be their friends, they will consume once more... after they're released fist."

During the middle of the conversations, one of the Golden Company mercenaries—Lysono Maar, the Lyseni company spymaster—approached donning inlaid gold armor.

"Lord Connington, our scouts report that the Masters are mobilizing their fleets," he reports.

Connington remained unfazed, even if Grey Worm and Missandei were taken aback. "This is an unexpected move for the Masters. It's too aggressive. How many ships did your men see?"