102 Cleaning the house

Cleaning the house

Theon POV

A new day came to Yunkai as the rest of the city's forces were subjugated. Nothing escaped my eyes. Every single soldier who didn't escape or surrender was quickly captured or killed. The slaves were released from their chains. And told to be thankful to the Mother of Dragons for their freedom. Most of them weren't slaves for long but already had everlasting scars.

Then came the fun part of pillaging. As promised, the gold and gifts I have used to fool the Great Masters belonged to the Tattered Prince. It was more gold than they had yearned for in the past five years combined. And they probably needed that gold, as they willingly or not have now sided with Daenerys and us, as the Windblown backstabbed their employers.

It didn't seem that the Tattered Prince minded it too much, as with this victory, we have established quite a powerhouse in Essos. Once Daenerys' dragons grow up, would there even be anyone who could oppose us? Even now, I couldn't think of anyone able to stand up to us. It was kind of boring, but I could do nothing about it. I guess I will have to find new ways to entertain myself.

"Please, no!" The Wise Masters cried as they were dragged from their pyramids.

Some tried to reason with us. Others begged for mercy as they were bound by the same chains the slaves wore previously. The rest have resigned themselves to their fate, as they were presented before the people of Yunkai. They were bound to posts erected from the ground and left to burn under the scorching sun.

I wasn't as cruel as to kill them. So, apart from the ones held hostage by us in the three occupied pyramids, the rest of the Wise Masters were waiting for their trial. It was a simple trial: if the people of Yunkai chose to free them from their binds, they would get as much gold as they weighed and let free. If the people don't free them until they die, the gold will be distributed to the former slaves.

They would have treated their people kindly if they were as wise as they claimed to be. And surely, the former slaves would choose to save them over a couple of gold coins each would get otherwise. So far, only half a day has passed, and a few Wise Masters were already killed by the slaves throwing rocks at them. I had to stop them from doing it further, as I was quite interested if at least one of the Wise Masters would be saved.

Others might call it cruel, but I thought it was a fitting justice. The Wise Masters that I left alive would be the new council of Yunkai, of course, without any military force. After all, I needed some puppets to entertain the preexisting rulers. I still needed to think about who to leave in Yunkai to watch over it, but I guess I should leave it to Dany. It was her job, and I couldn't be bothered.

"What do you think?" Dagmer asked me as he presented his soldiers.

"Pathetic," I replied, glancing over them. "But I guess I shouldn't expect anything better. They have only been trained for a couple of months."

"They are shaping up quite nicely, in my opinion," Dagmer said, dismissing my words like I didn't understand anything. "In a year or two, they will be fine warriors. What about the ships? Our new fleet will instill fear in this side of the Narrow Sea."

"Why are they so small?" I asked, looking at normal-sized longships. "Do you want others to think that I am poor? I want three hundred of the finest ships that a man can build, Dagmer. Where else can I get rid of all the gold I have."

It truly has become quite burdensome. My ships were once again filled with various treasures and gold. Just as Astapor and Meereen, Yunkai's Wise Master had more gold than they had the common sense to bury their heads into the sand and hope that we wouldn't come for them. Yet, here they were, planning to fight against us. What did they expect?

It was their fault that I had so much gold that it had become a problem. I needed to do something with my riches. Giving my men gold so they could overpay their whores, only got rid of so many gold coins. Still, at least it would give a good impression of the Ironborn to the people of Yunkai and maybe stimulate the economy. I was happy as long as my men and the women they spent their time with were satisfied.

"Theon," Anguy came to me as I started to get bored thinking about economics. "I have drafted a letter to the Queen as you asked."

"Good," I replied, taking the letter and reading over it and after seeing that I had nothing to add, I gave it back to Anguy. "Send it with that guy to Meereen."

"That guy?"

"You know the son of the Supreme Commander," I said, unable to remember his name and not bothering to relearn it. "Have you moved the loot already?"

"No, our ships are too full. We would need to leave. Food supplies to store more," Anguy answered, and I could only sigh as I couldn't leave all the gold in Yunkai.

"Fill the Astapor ships then."

"That's what we are doing, but it doesn't seem it will fit all, either. Gold is heavy," Anguy replied, once again disappointing me.

"Get me, Bronn," I had little option but to throw it away.

Using it was better than leaving it for the new ruling council. They would only hoard it or throw it away on useless things. I better rehire the slave soldiers of Yunkai, at least those who have not left the city. And then I will just give it to the shipwrights to build me more ships. This time, I want a merchant fleet. With the ships built back home and in Astapor, I will soon have no idea what to do with these fleets.

…

Wine flew over my head as I entered the biggest pyramid in Yunkai. It was given to me to use as I wished. I gave it to my men and let them settle here until we receive word of what Dany wants us to do next. As expected, my men started drinking everything they found. I couldn't even be angry at them as it was quite a big battle for them.

They probably felt like legends, sneaking into the city and then fighting their way through overwhelming forces to take control of it. They were pretty happy with the results and the means to achieve them. So, they celebrated, and then they celebrated even more. After all, there was quite a selection of alcohol for us to choose from. And my men are keen on drinking everything they find.

"Your Grace!" As I was enjoying the scene before me of the Ironborn getting drunk, one of the lookouts I had sent to scout the lands nearby came running to me. "Dothraki. Dothraki is coming."

"Dothraki?" It took me a moment to realize what the man was speaking of. "Are you sure it is them?"

"Yes, your grace," The man was out of breath as he spoke. "At least fifteen thousand of them are riding towards Yunkai."

"Oh," My men quickly sobered up once they heard the number, even though most didn't know who Dothraki were. Anyone having fifteen thousand riders is someone one shouldn't mess with. "How nice."

But I thought differently than others. We have more than six thousand men in the city right now, including a thousand or so of the slave soldiers who took an offer to serve me. It should be a fair battle if we can utilize the walls, even though the gates were still broken. They were still narrow enough to slow down fifteen thousand riders.

"How far are they?" One of the Goodbrother twins asked. I couldn't tell with one.

"They are nearing fast," The scout replied. "An hour, at best, two away."

"You heard the man!" I yelled with excitement coursing through my body. "You have half an hour to sober up and gear up."

I was itching for a worthy battle. So, I quickly went to the broken gates, the only way the Dothraki would get into the city. On the way, I told some of my men to inform the Tattered Prince and others of the Dothraki closing on us. I wondered how strong they were. And, of course, if I have time, I might ask them what they are doing here.

"This isn't good," The Tattered Prince said as he joined me. "Hopefully, they will back off with few gifts."

"Gifts?" I asked as we approached the gates, where barricades were quickly prepared. "I do not simply gift others."

"Don't be foolish," The Tattered Prince seemed to have expected my answer. "We can't afford a fight here. Even if we win, there is too much to lose."

"What does it matter how many men we lose?" I asked. There weren't even two thousand Ironborn with me, so I didn't care how many new hires would get killed. "Remember that Queen Daenerys still has Unsullied, and I have more Ironborn coming. With all the freedmen and sellswords, we have enough to wage war on anyone we want. We aren't backing off from Dothraki's threat, at that is final."

"I know you are a madman, but at least you should listen to me on this matter," The Tattered Prince didn't back off. "Let me speak with them first, at least."

"Fine," I didn't want the Tattered Prince to leave us with his company because his men were third of our forces. "Let's talk with them first. And I promise to give them a small gift. But if they ask anything more, we are killing each other."

"If I didn't know better, I would think that you want to fight them," The Tattered Prince said, stopped, and then turned back at me. "You want to fight them, don't you?"

I ignored the old man in a tattered cape. What did he know? He might be satisfied with cleaning after the victory. But I didn't care about the gold and iron I got from the battle, at least not anymore. What I want is to leave legends wherever I go and immortalize my name in these lands. I can never be satisfied with simple battles anymore. I need a challenge.

"Theon no," Thoros and Anguy found us not long after. "We can't fight right now, especially not against superior numbers. Do you even know how many injured men you have? And at least half of the rest of the men are drunk."

"The barricades won't last long. Without proper gates, we are wide open," Anguy added. "We won't be able to stop them entering the city."

"Both of you, have you already forgotten who we are?" I asked them, ashamed of their words. "We aren't some cowards. We always fought against superior opponents, and against all odds, we still came out to the top. Those gates will be their death if they wish to enter the city. It won't be my first time turning our weaknesses into strengths."

"Fuck you, Theon," Thoros took a long sip of his wine. "My ankle still hurts, and I didn't have time to get drunk enough for this shit."

"Well, I am closing to the end of my goal, so I might as well finish it now and here," Anguy checked his bow and arrows. "But I better get a beautiful castle. With tall towers, wide walls, and view to the sea."

"Are you all mad?" The Tattered Prince asked in frustration as they stopped arguing with me.

"Like I said, if he doesn't get himself killed, he will get us killed," Thoros replied, offering his wine to the Tattered Prince. "It is our fault that we are willing to die for his madman."

I didn't know if Thoros knew how I would react to his words or if he simply spoke out of his heart. But now I feel kind of bad. I didn't want to get them killed for my stupid ambitions. I simply liked them too much to let them die before me. So, this time I will try to talk with the Dothraki that I could see are quickly approaching us. The clouds of the sand they left behind them were quite impressive. It felt like they were a force of nature sent by the gods to punish me.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.