Lending money

 We enter the bar/inn closest to where we live together. We don't talk at all the way there, and there is a serious silence. A waiter takes us to a small room and we sit at a table reserved for "important clients." The silence remains until Omar orders several dishes: Three fried fish that I recognize as local fish, roast lamb chops with a sweet seasoning, a generous portion of roast potatoes, and a small basket with small white breads. To drink, we order three mugs of craft beer created by the owner of the establishment himself. The food doesn't come right away, but the drinks do. Omar and Liza take a sip of their drink and then look at me as if giving me the signal to start explaining. Not wanting to spoil their appetites, I start with a different subject, and ask how many gold coins he has at the moment and how much he could ask his old man for. Before he can answer, I also ask if his house is in his name and how much it would be worth. Omar's eyes widen at my question and Liza keeps a serious expression. Then he begins:

"I have about 7 or 8 gold coins saved that I managed to save. I already received this month's allowance from my father and I've already spent most of it. I must have at most 30-40 silver coins left. I've never asked for anything more than what he gives me, but if I had to ask, I don't know how much he would give me, but I can try. And yes, the house is in my name. Despite its size and "beauty", you know that the area where we live is not very valuable and only commoners live there. It's probably worth 4 times the value of a house in the region since it occupies 4 lots and we can increase it a little more, since the materials used in it are a little better than the others in the region. The big question is whether we would find a buyer who would want to spend so much in such a poor area."

—I see…

As soon as we finish lunch here we can go to your father and see how much he can give or lend you, then we will go to the port to look for a ship to buy, the requirements are one that is fast, large and within our budget. Then we should go to the bank to ask for loans and even to the local gangs if the money we need is not enough.

"Hey, are you serious? An average ship with your descriptions would not cost so much money to the point of getting us mired in debt, especially debts with the kind of people who would turn us into commodities at slave auctions."

I smile at Omar and say:

—Who said we are going to pay any of these debts? That's the advantage of knowing what I know before it happens...

"Knock, knock"

The door is knocked before it opens and the food we ordered arrives. While the dishes are being served at our table, I take a sip for the first time and try the local beer. It's very thin, it seems like a lot of water was mixed into the real beer, a slight sweet flavor mixed with what I assume is barley starch and a slight taste of something that I assume is butter or some other type of product made from it. It's not bad, but I would prefer the version with less water, but for the price I can't complain. 

I try the other food on the table and they all please my palate. I expected something more primitive and with a less pleasant flavor, but everything is very tasty and I'm satisfied with my first meal in this world. I'm surprised by the roast ribs, it's one of the best I've ever tried, and the roast potatoes have some kind of delicious spicy seasoning that goes well with the watery beer. I stop paying attention to the food and see that my two companions have only eaten a little and are looking at me, waiting for me to continue. I take a last spoonful of the soup that came as a gift and then I speak again:

—Have you ever heard of Daenys Targaryen?

Omar shakes his head and Liza seems to think for a moment before speaking:

"Was she one of Lord Targaryen's daughters?"

I answer yes and add:

—She became known as "Daenys the Dreamer" because of her many dreams that she claimed were visions of the future. Among her many dreams there was one that greatly worried the Lords of her house. This was the end of all Valyria, a disaster so great that not even the dragons in the sky would escape. Shortly after this dream, all the Targaryens went to Westeros, taking even their dragons and leaving nothing behind.

I remain silent after Daenys describes her dreams, letting them absorb the information and I go back to eating, taking a huge piece of fried fish, while I look at the two of them and see their reactions. I leave more details for later because I don't trust the whore very much, she could ruin my "long-term loan" plans if she goes around talking about me and Omar.

"Based on that alone, you're willing to take out so many loans and even end up as a slave?" Liza asks.

Omar looks at her, and puts one hand on his chin as if he was thinking after hearing the comment.

"I trust Rafa, not only because he is my best friend, but also because he doesn't usually take risks of any kind, if you are willing to do this you must be absolutely sure that it will actually happen, am I right?"

I appreciate the fearful, I mean cautious personality of the old Rafael, and nod my head. After that Omar asks again:

"So do you know when this will happen?"

"In less than 7 days, but the scale of the disaster is so great that we need to be at least 1 day away to ensure our safety. That leaves us with less than 5 days to prepare. Omar, don't worry, if you don't believe me and want other guarantees I can drop you off on the closest island possible so you can wait and…

Before I continue he waves his hand for me to stop.

"No need, I'll believe you on this one."

I nod at him in confirmation, thanking him for his trust in me, and look at the harlot who is reflecting. She notices my gaze and asks another question:

—What kind of disaster will it be? You said you need at least 1 day away to ensure survival..."

I look at her with a serious expression and begin:

—The 14 flames will erupt at the same time.

I pause and observe her expression, I wonder if she knows what an eruption is, but she is still reflecting and imitates the same gesture as Omar with her hand on her chin. Soon after she stands up and makes a gesture of bowing towards Omar and thanks him for the meal, then she looks at me and thanks him saying:

"The information about Daenys is something new that I did not know, as for the prophecy of the disaster and its specific date I cannot believe you in the same way that your friend believes, but I will still take the information into consideration."

When she is about to leave, I call her once more and tell her to keep the disaster a secret, it can be dangerous for those who spread the information and it will not be advantageous for those who want to leave if the prices of ships and tickets become more expensive. She nods in understanding and leaves soon after. When the door is closed, Omar turns to me and says "spit it out", I smile and know that he didn't believe the story of the prophecy either. So I speak calmly in a lower tone to avoid the ears that are still outside:

"Besides Daenys, I also dreamed about the disaster!" I say with a serious expression on my face.

Omar stands still, digesting the information, then he spits in a rude tone:

"It seems that your father's blood is still strong even though he is a bastard, if I'm correct Daenys didn't see the exact date, but you did, right? That would explain why they fled so long ago."

"So you believe me?"

"Sigh... Yes, I do."

[BEEP]

[Optional quest completed]

[Convince at least 1 person that the disaster is real]

[Experience gained upon completion of quest]

(Trivia about Valyria part 3: The title 40 families refers to the most powerful families in Valyria who have had dragon riders since the beginning of the Valyrian Empire. However, since the Targaryens fled and went to Dragonstone, the nobles have started calling them the 39 families, and only among the commoners does the expression 40 families still remain.)