Chapter 104: Illyrio's Manse (Part 1)
Ian passed through three gates: the main entrance with a guardhouse outside the walls, the red-painted wooden door of the manse, and the garden gate covered in pale green ivy. He finally arrived in the manse's gardens, along with the numerous merchants invited to Illyrio's feast.
Outside each gate stood two guards wearing spiked bronze helmets. They were plump and round, their faces smooth as a babe's bottom.
Compared to the formidable Unsullied he had encountered upon arriving in Pentos, Ian doubted that these eunuchs in Illyrio's inner courtyard, who had clearly lived in luxury for years, still retained even the most basic combat ability.
Ian and Daeron, led by a serving girl, took seats beneath a cherry tree. As soon as he sat down, he felt his entire backside enveloped in thick velvet. It felt incredibly warm.
Sitting there, Ian kept shifting his position to allow the overheated chair to cool somewhat. Fortunately, it was wide enough that two men of Ian's size could sit comfortably.
This made him wonder whose measurements these chairs were designed for. He soon found his answer.
The host of the feast, Magister Illyrio Mopatis, entered the garden from another direction and took his place at the head table.
He was a man with a forked yellow beard, incredibly corpulent, wearing robes large enough to serve as a pavilion tent. He wore silk from Yi Ti, revealing a pale, pillowy belly and a pair of heavy breasts that sagged so much they resembled two sacks of suet covered in coarse yellow hair.
Everyone stood and raised their cups to him, and Ian joined in the gesture.
Illyrio, without any false modesty, returned the toast. As his hand moved, Ian's eyes were dazzled by a riot of dancing jewels.
On his fat fingers, he wore rings of agate, amethyst, jade, ruby, jet, opal, tourmaline, tiger's eye, and sapphire. Rather than making him look noble, these gems gave him the air of a prosperous parvenu.
Illyrio began his speech, largely focused on the day's business: the distribution of trading rights for various Pentoshi goods.
His words revealed that he and his guild held a near monopoly on the spice trade in Pentos, and also controlled significant shares in several other commodities, including gemstones, dragonbone, cheese, and firewine.
Ian listened to Illyrio's talk with growing interest. Given his current funds, he could become quite wealthy if he truly participated in these ventures.
But he ultimately listened quietly and chose not to participate, for Ian Rivers was supposed to be penniless.
Ian wanted to present himself as a man of ability but no resources, ambitious but limited in vision (caring only about reclaiming Darry), a man who hated the Baratheons and pinned his only hope on a Targaryen restoration—a typical opportunist.
He wanted to make Illyrio feel that he was a useful tool, completely under his control, ready to be redirected to the more promising Young Griff and work for his cause.
To achieve this, Ian had to constantly maintain his performance.
Fortunately, the host didn't leave Ian waiting idly while business was discussed. After Illyrio finished his opening remarks, he had the serving girls bring wine and dishes.
First came wines of every variety, served in ornate silver cups: sweet reds from the Reach, summer reds from Dorne, amber wine from Pentos, green nectar from Myr, gold from the Arbor, and countless fine vintages from Meereen, Qarth, and Asshai near the Shadow Lands, and even from far Yi Ti.
Then came the dishes. The first course was a soup made from crab and some exotic fish, alongside an iced fruit soup of unknown origin. Then came honey-glazed quail, buttered carrots, crispy suckling pig, lamb loin, wine-soaked foie gras, heron stuffed with figs, veal medallions in almond milk, herring in cream sauce, candied vegetables, pungent blue cheese, several platters of snails, and a roasted dish of some unidentifiable beast, followed by a black swan served with all its plumage.
This spread completely upended Ian's understanding of the culinary possibilities in this world. Originally, he'd formed a basic assessment of the world's cuisine based on the "finest" dishes served in several Westerosi inns, but it turned out that the people of Westeros were thoroughly provincial when it came to food.
The merchants engaged in spirited negotiations over trading rights, their faces reddening during their vigorous debates, nearly coming to blows.
Ian, meanwhile, quietly enjoyed his meal with Daeron—a silent presence, seemingly out of place among the boisterous crowd.
This, in turn, caught Illyrio's attention. After dismissing two particularly quarrelsome merchants, he approached Daeron, his voluminous robes swaying with each waddling step.
"Daeron? I can scarcely believe you're still among the living," Illyrio said with genuine surprise. Gulltown's recapture by the Crown was such a significant event, and as both Trade Prince and spymaster, Illyrio had naturally been among the first to learn of it.
"Magister Illyrio, since you already know what befell House Grafton, you must also know why we're here," Daeron said respectfully.
Daeron's former personality would have likely led him to demand answers from Illyrio the moment they met, but recent experiences and Ian's counsel had tempered him considerably.
"Indeed, I have heard the tales. House Grafton and House Darry," Illyrio said, his gaze settling on the shield-shaped herring on brown field worn by Ian, who stood beside Daeron.
Ian was not wearing armor, but rather a fine doublet he'd purchased at a tailor's shop the previous day, embroidered with the Darry sigil.
"You claim to be of House Darry? I heard that Lord Darry's bastard sons perished during your rebellion," Illyrio observed. "So who might you be?"
"He's Ian Rivers, Ser Raymun's other son," Daeron quickly explained. Ian had previously counseled him that since Daeron was a trueborn lord's son while Ian was merely a bastard, Daeron should take the lead in conversations as befitted his superior birth.
Though he didn't understand why Ian, who was clearly the leader of their partnership, had suddenly adopted such a humble posture, the arrangement was actually a relief for Daeron.
Daeron, of course, didn't realize that Ian's purpose in orchestrating this was simply to have Daeron make the introduction, thereby lending credibility to Ian Rivers's identity in Illyrio's eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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