Chapter 83: City of Wood
"Magister of Pentos?"
The silver-haired youth held his helmet, slightly puzzled by the guard's words.
Over the years, they had peacefully developed on the Andaras Plain, keeping their distance from Pentos. Though the two city-states were not far apart, the Velvet Mountains served as a barrier between them. Apart from regular trade and civilian interactions, there was little high-level communication between them.
Viserys hadn't expected that today, of all days, a Magister from Pentos would come to Andaros.
Viserys knew that, in theory, Pentos was governed by the Prince of Pentos, but the prince's power had long been usurped by the Magisters. Now, the prince only performed ceremonial duties, presiding over meetings and holiday feasts. Pentos was effectively ruled by the Magisters collectively.
"Since Your Majesty has important matters to attend to, I shall take my leave."
Sir William, leaning on his cane, spoke in a hoarse voice. Viserys nodded slightly, and then Sir William left the tournament grounds. It was time for him to take his medicine, and he needed to see the maester to concoct some potions.
As the master-at-arms departed, Bessie remained by Viserys' side, for he was Viserys' guard and needed to protect the young king at all times.
Though he had not been formally appointed as a Kingsguard, the master-at-arms believed that they were not yet qualified to stand alongside their late brother, Jonothor Darry, the former 'Mad King's' Kingsguard. Now, they could not even bear the title of Kingsguard.
However, apart from the title, Bessie had assumed duties equivalent to those of a Kingsguard.
After pondering for a while, Viserys asked again.
"Do you know the name of this Magister from Pentos?"
The guard who had delivered the news thought for a moment and then respectfully replied.
"Your Majesty, I heard their conversation. This Magister of Pentos seems to be called Illyrio Mopatis."
"Illyrio Mopatis."
Viserys found the name somewhat familiar. Recalling something, his light purple eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded.
"I see."
"Please have this Magister wait for me in the great hall."
"Understood."
The guard received Viserys' order and then withdrew.
Following that, Viserys left the training grounds with his guard.
Meanwhile, in the castle above.
A brown-haired girl stood by the window, watching Viserys' retreating figure. She pouted and hummed softly.
She seemed to still be sulking with Viserys over being prevented from going out to play a few days ago.
She had witnessed the entire joust between Viserys and the guard knight. When Viserys' lance suddenly broke, she had been startled and let out a cry. She was afraid that something might have happened to him.
But it was just a fleeting moment, and it turned out to be a false alarm. The knight named Bessie had lost the contest, and her 'brother' had knocked him off his horse. The girl then patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Due to their closeness in age and their past reliance on each other, Rhaenys had always regarded Viserys as her brother in her heart.
And then she discovered Viserys atop his horse, holding a broken lance, oddly lifting his head to gaze in the direction of the castle.
He seemed to have just heard a girl's cry.
Upon witnessing this, Rhaenys remembered that she was apparently in a quarrel with Viserys, and hurriedly hid behind the curtains.
It wasn't until Viserys and his attendant left that Rhaenys crawled out from behind the curtain.
In her hand, she held a timid-looking little girl with silvery-gold hair.
The little girl heard the commotion outside the window and, stepping on a small stool, tried to peek out, but couldn't see the scenery outside due to her height.
"Alright, Daenerys, don't be naughty."
"You'll fall again later."
Noticing the little girl's dangerous movements, Rhaenys quickly picked her up from the stool.
...
Illyrio Mopatis rode in a carriage into the rumored 'City of Wood,' Andalos.
The carriage swayed on the flat road, and then a thick, jeweled finger lifted the carriage's curtain.
A portly man sat in the carriage, curiously gazing outside. He had a greasy yellow forked beard and uneven yellow teeth, with a gemstone ring on each finger.
He was Illyrio Mopatis, the merchant Magister of Pentos. Although Pentos wasn't too far from Andalos, traveling by land still required crossing mountains and rivers.
In his youth, Illyrio had been a poor, robust assassin. But now, due to neglecting exercise and his significantly changed figure, he had lost the ability to ride a horse. He had traveled a great distance by carriage to Andalos, feeling as if his buttocks were going to be crushed.
"I swear! This is the last time I ride in a carriage!"
"Abel!"
"Come and rub my waist!"
Illyrio sat in the carriage, looking at the scenery of the City of Wood while commanding his attendant beside him. The attendant, named Abel, hurriedly came to his master's side and massaged his aching waist.
Illyrio grunted a few times, adjusted his sitting posture, and continued to gaze at the scenery outside the window, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Andalos was known as the City of Wood in the outside world because the city had sprung up at an astonishing speed. Viserys Targaryen came to the Andalos Plain and, in the name of the Seven Gods' apostle and the Andal King, called on all Andals to gather and establish the city.
Since it was necessary to quickly establish a foothold, the city had a population of tens of thousands in the early stages. Even the wealth accumulated by the Targaryens on Dragonstone couldn't withstand such extravagance.
Viserys first understood the astronomical cost of mobilizing an army for combat, even if just for a day.
Therefore, upon arriving in the new city, it was essential to quickly establish a foothold and start producing, striving for self-sufficiency.
As a result, the miraculously fast-rising city of Andalos was initially entirely built of wood, which led to its name, the City of Wood.
However, this changed somewhat after the great fire that occurred two years ago.
A fire, either natural or man-made, burned a fifth of the city's districts. The number of people killed in the fire reached over a thousand, but the economic loss wasn't significant.
Although Andalos had risen quickly, its economic level wasn't high, so even a great fire had little to burn.
Nevertheless, Viserys learned his lesson at that time, slowed down the city 's expansion, and began some renovation projects, gradually tearing down some wooden houses and rebuilding them as stone structures.
All of this started with his own castle.
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