WILOW-Ch.342: Finding a Solution
Astapor City, Slaver's Bay
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric was sitting in a large room in one of the mansions of the now-dead Good Masters and looking over at the city of Astapor.
If he had the time, resources, and patience, then he would have definitely liked to liberate this city. To free all the slaves and give them a good life.
But, with the war in Westeros raging and his Empire not yet established, trying to control such a distant piece of land wouldn't be very wise.
Besides, he knew that if he wanted to hold onto Astapor, he needed to conquer Yunkai and Meereen. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a single day without trouble.
Because, as it was, he knew that if he tried to free the slaves from Astapor and kept them here, then all the cities around him would instantly become his enemies.
Mainly because all of their economies relied on slaves.
If that happened, then even he wouldn't be able to save the city and its inhabitants, no matter what.
Perhaps Domeric could return in the future to seize control of Slaver's Bay, abolish slavery, and annex these lands to his Empire, but that day wasn't today.
-Knock, knock, knock
There was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Missandei, whom he had taken as his personal maid and assistant, stood up and left to open the door.
The door opened, and Muron entered the room, dragging another man with him.
The man's face was bruised, one of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was not even able to stand on his own feet.
"Who is this Muron?" he asked as Muron threw the man in front of him.
"This…" Muron said as he kicked the man for sheer amusement, "Is one of the Wise Masters of Yunkai, here on some business with the Good Masters. And he has some good information for us."
"Does he?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, and turned to look at the man. "What kind of information?"
"Ships," Muron replied with a bloodthirsty grin. "Of the three cities on this side of the Slaver's Bay, Yunkai has the largest Fleet. He says that if we threaten the Wise Masters with the Unsullied army, then they would be more than willing to part with some of those ships."
He thought about it and then nodded.
"Gather the food and supplies. Fill the ships we have and create a blockade around Yunkai." He said and turned to Grey Worm, who was chosen as the leader of the Unsullied.
"Keep 3,000 of the Unsullied in the city for the protection of the Freed Slaves. March the rest of them to Yunkai. I want every ship we can get. Once we get the ships we need, we'll return and take the 3000 Unsullied and the 90,000 slaves and skilled workers, before leaving for Westeros."
Both men nodded and left the room.
Once they closed the door behind them, he turned to Missandei, "Do you know any songs, Missandei?"
"Only the ones from my home." She said.
"Where is your home?" he asked.
"Naath." She replied.
"Sing me a song from Naath then." He said and looked outside at the city and to the people who wanted to come with him and those who didn't.
He had given them a choice, and there was nothing he could do for those who didn't accept his offer. Domeric couldn't take on the role of savior for everyone, especially when others didn't want to be saved.
But he still needed to find a way to transport the people who agreed to come with him and the Unsullied. Boarding approximately 110,000 people onto medieval ships, especially those built for naval warfare and trade rather than passenger transport, was incredibly difficult.
Even if the army he sent to Yunkai succeeded and captured many ships, he didn't think it would be enough. Furthermore, he couldn't cram people into the ships.
Low oxygen levels, infectious diseases from close contact, and many other problems would cause many to die before reaching Westeros.
Therefore, Domeric felt he had to resort to magical means, but in a way that was as inconspicuous as possible and wouldn't reveal his wizarding identity.
And the best solution he could think of was to expand the ships' interiors with Extension Charms to increase their carrying capacity. But this solution didn't quite meet his criterion of being inconspicuous.
So Domeric thought it would be more logical to create ward stones with Extension Charms already engraved on them, rather than simply applying Extension Charms directly to the ships.
He would also add Confundus Charms to the ward stones alongside the Extension Charms, ensuring that those entering the expanded area would think everything was normal.
He thought that by adding a few other spells, like ventilation spells, he could create ship interiors that everyone could comfortably travel on until they reached Westeros.
While he was at it, perhaps he could also add simple protective spells and spells like automatic fire detection and extinguishing spells. This would also significantly increase the protection of his ships.
And he definitely needed to add an intention-based stunning spell. Otherwise, it would be impossible to prevent fights and brawls in a place with 90,000 people. Or other attacks... the kind men inflict on women.
These spells were all spells Domeric could cast himself while creating the ward stones. He didn't need to use extra magical ink or rune enhancements for complicated spells, just elemental ward runes. Therefore, producing a large number of these and providing one for each ship wouldn't take much of his time.
The only drawback of this method was that since ward stones weren't tied to a source of magic, they would only work until their magic was depleted.
But Domeric was confident that with his current magical power, he could create ward stones that wouldn't lose their power for at least 4-5 years.
After formulating a plan for what to do about the problem at hand, Domeric turned to Missandei, who had just finished another song, and said, "Naath really has some beautiful songs. I've never been there before, but I'm thinking of going someday. When that time comes, I can take you with me. Would you like to visit your hometown in the future, Missandei?"
She seemed a little hesitant to answer, most likely because she was afraid of being punished for her answer.
But after a moment of hesitation, she answered, albeit in a low voice, "I would like to."
"Then it's decided. We'll visit Naath someday," he said, and in return, he saw a genuine smile appear on Missandei's face for the first time since they met.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.343: The Target on the Horizon
Ch.344: I Don't Believe You
Ch.345: To Lord Bolton