The fat man watched as his blood was poured into a small glass bottle, his heart filled with unease. His unease stemmed from not knowing what the Mountain intended to do with his blood; it was most likely related to witchcraft.
Across the Narrow Sea Nine Free Cities, the city of Reese, is a gathering place for dark wizards. Many terrifying legends are related to the wizards' experiments. The fat man's ally, Varys, was castrated because a wizard was conducting witchcraft research.
A normal person wouldn't want even a drop of his blood.
The fat man crossed the Narrow Sea to plot something big with Varys. He was staying in Shae's brothel, a secret operation unknown to anyone. Shae's brothel catered exclusively to wealthy people, royalty, governors, and princes from all over the world, keeping their identities confidential. Only one person knew that the fat man had crossed the sea: The Spider. Varys!
How did the ferocious Mountain know him? Why did the Mountain capture him here and then trick Varys into coming here? The fat man had no idea.
For decades, the fat man and Varys have always been in control of the situation, either by personally taking charge or by staying behind the scenes. This is the first time the situation has spiraled out of control like today.
The key question is what exactly the Demon Mountain wants, which even the big fat man still has no idea.
This was especially unsettling for the fat man. He feared that the Mountain would find out about his conspiracy with Varys, which would mean Lannister knew as well, and he would never be able to return to Pentos. This path of conspiracy would become his dead end.
The Mountain sensed the fat man's unease, which grew stronger over time. After all, for Illyrio Mopatis, who had never failed as an assassin and as a governor, this failure was fatal.
" Governor Illyrio Mopatis, you need not be afraid. I know you have been sheltering two people across the Narrow Sea: Daenerys Targaryen and her brother Viserys Targaryen. "
Illyrio glanced at Varys. The Mountain already knew his name?! Then he must also know everything about his position as governor.
Varys smiled, a smile slightly more beautiful than a grimace. Illyrio could see the turmoil churning within Varys, a sense of helplessness washing over him. When had Varys first crossed paths with the Mountain and revealed his existence to him? Revealing even a small part of these secrets could be fatal. When had the Mountain mentioned three names to Varys, and what did that signify? Illyrio was filled with too many questions.
Illyrio smiled at the Mountain. However, his chubby face began to oil, and sweat started to bead on his fat neck.
Fat people tend to get hot easily, then break out in a cold sweat that they can't control.
He had heard of the Mountain's fame before, but this was their first meeting. He knew a lot about the Mountain, except for one thing: Varys always addressed him as "Count," but as far as he knew, the Mountain was a baron.
" Varys, this gentleman is…" Illyrio said hypocritically.
" A vassal of Duke Tywin Lannister of the West: Earl Gregor Clegane, known as the Mountain."
" Lord Gregor, Illyrio greets you." Illyrio, in his capacity as governor, humbly saluted the Mountain.
The Demon Mountain sat motionless, coldly watching him.
Illyrio glanced at Varys, but saw no hint in his eyes, indicating that Varys was just as clueless as he was about why the Mountain had abducted them here.
But Illyrio and Varys have been undefeated for decades, and he won't just give up so easily; self-preservation is essential. The real thorny issue now is: just how many of their secrets does the Mountain possess?
Secret? Blood? Blood Wizard? Prophecy? Illyrio's life experience and rich knowledge allowed him to quickly connect these points.
If the Mountain knows any of their secrets, it must be related to the Blood Wizard's prophecy, but this needs to be confirmed.
" Lord Varys, why do you only want my blood and not yours?"
"My blood was delivered to the Earl a few days ago."
"Just as I thought!" Illyrio thought to himself. Understanding this key point calmed him down somewhat. Blood Wizards could indeed see fragments of information about the blood's owner through blood, but not everything. Moreover, truly capable Blood Wizards were rare; most Blood Wizard prophecies were often just empty promises.
But Illyrio knew that the Blood Wizard behind the Mountain was real; the fact that they had been abducted by the Mountain already demonstrated the Blood Wizard's power.
Let's test the waters first, with a mix of truth and deception, to see what the Demon Mountain knows and whether his purpose is to kill or something else.
The Mountain and the Daenerys family have a national and personal feud. He needs to first try to sever all ties with the Daenerys, though this will be very difficult.
"My lord, I did not serve Daenerys and Viserys across the Narrow Sea. I married Daenerys to Khal Drogo to secure the safety of Pentos … Pentos and Braavos signed a peace treaty decades ago, which limited us to no more than twenty warships, prohibited us from hiring professional mercenary groups to defend the city, limited the number of City Watch members to no more than one thousand, and prohibited the city's governor and prince from signing any contracts with mercenary groups privately. For security, we had to raise the city walls, but these could not stop the Dothraki. To keep the Dothraki confined to the east bank of the Lorne River, we had to pay gold and silver to the powerful Khal every year."
The Mountain stared at Illyrio without saying a word.
This left Illyrio wondering how much of his and Varys's secrets the Mountain knew through the Blood Wizard. The Blood Wizard had seen Varys's blood; that information only came from Varys. And his blood was currently in the hands of a minor guard whom the Mountain called Bernie. Affairs Officers.
Illyrio had to force himself to justify his actions. He didn't believe the Mountain was powerful enough to know all his secrets; even the most powerful Blood Wizard couldn't do that. Information was closed and asymmetrical, and exploiting this asymmetry was his chance to survive.
The Mountain's bloodthirstiness is unparalleled in the Seven Kingdoms, and his infamy extends far and wide across the Narrow Sea. This is because many people from the Westeros continent go to the Narrow Sea to do business, trade, settle, travel, be exiled, flee, or work as mercenaries, and they bring the Mountain's infamy with them.
We need to give the Demon Mountain some real information, mixed with some false information.
"My lord," Illyrio chuckled, "when I first met Daenerys and Viserys, I was stunned by Daenerys's beauty. I wanted to kill Viserys and take Daenerys for myself. Men all have that kind of taste, don't they?" He thought he had made a very humorous remark, but the Mountain remained expressionless, looking at him as if he were an idiot. This made the wicked smile on Illyrio's fat face freeze.
To possess Daenerys was Illyrio's initial, genuine thought. There are practically no men who wouldn't be moved by Daenerys's beauty.
"But Daenerys is very timid and often cries for no reason. Even a sudden meow from a cat can startle her and make her tremble. Marrying such a woman would be unlucky, so I gave up the idea. Coincidentally, Khal Drogo led 40,000 Dothraki to the vast plain outside Pentos. Pentos had no troops to fight Khal Drogo, so how could we make a barbarian like him retreat? For barbarians, one thing is money, and the other is beautiful women. We, Pentos, will provide the money; as for the beautiful women, Daenerys ' beauty is unparalleled."