Chapter 102: Slave Trade
"Actually, it's not a big deal," Taroban said after a moment's thought. "I need you to help me take out a few people."
"Assassination?" He called that not a big deal?
"Oh no," Taroban waved his hand quickly. "Well, maybe it could be considered that. But not the kind you're thinking of. They're just a small gang of street toughs. You can easily find and eliminate them."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Simple, isn't it?"
"Tell me the details. I'm curious what kind of street toughs could cause such trouble for a merchant like yourself." Ian didn't believe a word Taroban was saying.
"Their leader is called Silva the Spearbreaker. He operates around the docks of Pentos. He has about a dozen men under his command, and they're quite capable."
"A small gang of street toughs," Ian repeated skeptically. "A band of sellswords?" He heard the system notification chime, knowing that an optional quest had been triggered, but he didn't rush to check it.
"Ah, you're right to understand it that way."
"Master Taroban!" Ian resisted the urge to slap him. "If you truly want us to solve this problem for you, you shouldn't hide anything from us."
"Yes, he's a sellsword, but also a street tough, because he's been operating around the port of Pentos, making his living by helping powerful men in the city solve various problems."
"So you're now the problem that some powerful man needs solved?"
"Oh! You're exaggerating. It's not like that, absolutely not." Taroban quickly denied it.
"Well, whether they're sellswords or street gangs, as a member of Illyrio's trade guild, you're actually worried about such a trivial matter? You offered us a reward of one hundred gold dragons before. With that coin, you could easily hire a sellsword company of a hundred men to solve this problem, but you chose us? Why?"
"That's because I..." Taroban had intended to say he was offering them the invitation out of charity. But he quickly remembered that he wasn't making such an offer to someone who'd left disappointed—rather, they'd seen through his purpose.
"Two possibilities. First, Silva the Spearbreaker's band is extremely dangerous, and you can't find any sellswords willing to take them on. But that's unlikely." In Westeros, common soldiers are willing to attempt capturing Sandor Clegane, the Hound, for a hundred silver stags. Do Pentoshi simply lack courage?
"There's a saying that no sellsword won't take a job as long as the coin is good enough, so I'm more inclined toward the second possibility. The power behind 'Spearbreaker' is such that the sellswords in Pentos dare not offend him.
Or at least, no one in Pentos dares to offend whoever he's currently working for." Ian said with a knowing smile. "In other words, it comes back to my original assessment. You're now a problem that someone important needs eliminated."
Taroban was silent for several seconds before speaking again. "The thing is, I have a smuggling ship. According to the schedule, it should arrive at port this week. However, my warehouse has been targeted by that damned 'Spearbreaker,' so..."
"Who hired the Spearbreaker?" Ian asked directly, not wanting to hear more evasions.
In fact, Ian had already begun reconsidering at this point. Taroban's words were evasive, and his lies came one after another. It was obvious there was a significant hidden danger behind this job.
Ian didn't want to offend any important figure in Pentos before even meeting Illyrio. After all, there were still more than two months before Dany and the khal left Pentos in the books, and he would have to remain in Pentos during that time.
"Sellsword? No, this is just his own scheme. He wants to extort coin from me."
"So 'Spearbreaker' is a street tough who's also started an extortion racket against smugglers, correct?"
"This..."
"Do we look that foolish?"
"Since you're being so dishonest, I'm afraid our cooperation cannot continue." Ian said, standing up.
Taroban quickly rose to his feet, but then realized he was being too eager and sat down again.
"You need an invitation to Magister Illyrio's feast. I must remind you that this month's feast has been moved up to the day after tomorrow. If you think you can obtain an invitation from someone other than me within a day and a half, then by all means do so," Taroban said firmly.
"But who told you we must see Magister Illyrio immediately? We have plenty of time to find a way to meet him before the horselord arrives in Pentos," Ian said, turning and walking away.
Ian's words were both a bluff and the truth. Although he hadn't devised a perfect solution yet, he wasn't in a rush. As long as he stayed in Pentos, with Daeron as his 'key,' how could he truly fail to see Illyrio?
He'd asked Daeron to seek help from a 'friend' to save time, not to invite trouble.
"Wait!" Taroban finally called out to Ian. "I can tell you more, but you must first promise to help me solve this problem."
Ian continued walking toward the exit without looking back.
"Fine! I'll tell you the truth first, and then you can decide whether to help. Is that acceptable?"
Hearing this, Ian stopped, planning to listen to what Taroban had to say. After all, the final decision was in his hands.
What he didn't expect was that Taroban seemed to have exhausted his capacity for fabrication, and he started with a revelation.
"My ship is a slave ship," Taroban said bluntly.
"Slaves." Ian was caught off guard. He finally understood why Taroban, as a member of the Illyrio trade guild, couldn't even solve a simple matter like 'smuggling.' It turned out the cargo he was smuggling was slaves.
"That's right," Taroban saw the shock on Ian's face and explained. "Pentos abolished slavery after being defeated by Braavos, but in reality the upper classes of Pentos still have high demand for slaves.
The nobles removed the collars from their slaves and pretended to make them freemen, but at the same time burdened these slaves with debts so enormous they could never repay them in their lifetimes.
Because of the prohibition, the profit from the slave trade in Pentos is much higher than in the Three Daughters. While conducting normal trade, we occasionally bring back a cargo of 'quality goods' when passing through Slaver's Bay. Especially bed slaves from Yunkai—they're trained in the seven sighs and the sixteen pillowhouse arts, and are very popular among Pentoshi nobles."
"Since private slave trading is already an open secret, why are you worried about problems with your slave ship?" Ian interrupted Taroban and asked his own question.
"Because of factional conflict."
Author's Note: I know many readers want to see the protagonist meet Daenerys sooner rather than later. However, as long as the protagonist remains in Pentos, he can't engage in any schemes in front of Viserys and Daenerys (as this would alert Illyrio). Therefore, during the protagonist's two months in Pentos, Daenerys will have very few scenes.
(End of Chapter)
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