King's Landing is about five hundred kilometers from Dragonstone, located at the end of Blackwater Bay, and is also a port city.
After crossing Blackwater Bay, Drogon saw a vast city from afar. As the political, cultural, and power center of the Seven Kingdoms, King's Landing had a population of nearly one million.
The entire city was surrounded by tall walls with seven gates for entry and exit. Approaching the city, Drogon's gaze was drawn to two tall structures, both built atop high hills.
One was a castle built entirely of red bricks, complete with walls, battlements, and arrow towers, clearly a city within a city.
The other building's main structure consisted of seven crystal towers, one of which had a giant bell. A large statue stood in the central plaza.
Drogon guessed this might be the Great Sept that would later be destroyed by the Queen Regent.
After surveying the entire panorama of King's Landing from the sky, he descended to find a landing spot.
King's Landing often had messenger ravens. If he didn't get too close, his size would most likely be mistaken for a raven, but the oversized backpack was a bit conspicuous, so he decided to find a place to put it down first.
The Red Keep was clearly out of the question; its defenses were too tight, and nothing would be safe there. Although the items inside weren't valuable, they were crucial to Drogon's sustenance.
As he was about to fly towards a target, he suddenly saw two people, one fat and one thin, exit the Red Keep's gate. Their specific appearances were unclear.
After exiting the gate, the two went their separate ways, one heading south and the other north. Drogon flew over the fat man's head, getting a clear look at his face.
He had a bald, round face, wore a pale yellow silk robe, and walked slowly with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
Seeing the fat man's signature bald head and movements, and knowing he came from the Red Keep, Drogon wondered if he might be Varys, the Master of Whisperers, The Spider of King's Landing. After roughly confirming his identity, Drogon followed him from high above.
Varys walked leisurely, occasionally looking left and right, as if guarding against being followed, perhaps out of professional habit.
Drogon thought he would keep walking straight, but then saw him suddenly turn into a small shop. Judging by the shops lining the street, it seemed to be a silk and fabric store.
Drogon could only land on a rooftop across the street to observe quietly.
After waiting for ten minutes and still not seeing Varys emerge, Drogon grew a bit anxious. He even suspected this might be one of his strongholds, where he was currently studying intelligence.
Then he suddenly recalled a rumor about Varys, that he was not only skilled in various thieving techniques but also adept at disguise. Could the plump woman who just walked out of the shop be him?
After a moment's thought, he chased in the direction the woman had gone. Soon, he spotted the plump woman, waddling down the street, occasionally picking through accessories or clothes at street stalls, and sometimes entering shops frequented by ordinary women or noble ladies.
After following for over an hour, seeing her still aimlessly wandering, no different from an ordinary woman, Drogon began to doubt if he had followed the wrong person and felt a pang of regret.
Of course, there was a reason he followed the woman. In this world, transportation was underdeveloped, and information was scarce. The Dragon Mother had too few talented people around her.
Jorah and Barristan were good at fighting, but little else could be expected of them. Missandei was merely a secretary.
Figures like Varys and Tyrion Lannister were even more lacking. Varys would eventually pledge allegiance to the Dragon Mother and even bring Tyrion Lannister with him, but it was unknown when that would happen.
The Dragon Mother had already taken Astapor, and her ultimate goal was the three cities of Slavers Bay. After conquering them, governance would become a huge problem. Although Drogon didn't know the specific details, he knew there would be many problems later that would vex the Dragon Mother.
One major purpose of his trip to Westeros was to recruit talent and help the Dragon Mother's territories get on track sooner. He had coincidentally seen Varys but might have lost him.
If he lost him, then he lost him! He wouldn't run away anyway, he could only console himself this way. Just as he was about to give up following, he saw the plump woman turn into a small alley at the end of the street, her steps much quicker than before, her body seemingly lighter.
Drogon, who was about to leave, was still a bit unwilling to give up and continued to follow. The plump woman walked a few steps to a small, independent courtyard. She looked left and right, took out a key, and opened the courtyard gate.
Seeing the familiar movements, Drogon's heart leaped with joy. There was a chance.
The woman opened the door and entered the small courtyard. Drogon also carefully flew over the courtyard wall.
The courtyard was small and very simple, with only two houses. The woman entered the one facing north.
Drogon flew to the newly opened window sill and heard faint movements and water sounds inside the house. He carefully poked his head in. The woman was standing under another window, removing her makeup in a blurry bronze mirror.
She took off her hair, revealing a bald scalp, and was wiping off her makeup with a silk cloth, wetting it as she wiped.
It was Varys after all, he hadn't followed the wrong person, Drogon thought to himself, secretly pleased.
At this moment, Varys was still completely unaware, continuing to remove his makeup and change his clothes. In less than ten minutes, he had regained his usual calm and composed demeanor.
Then he walked to the table, pulled open a drawer, took out a claw hammer, squatted on the ground, pried up the iron nails on the cellar cover, slightly tilted his head, and lifted the cover.
"You must be starving! Today I brought you brown soup. It tastes good, I even miss its flavor."
Varys finished speaking, opened the cloth bag he had brought back from outside, took out a brown earthenware pot, grabbed a finger-thick, extra-long straw from beside the cellar, extended it into the cellar, and placed a funnel on top of the straw.
"Aim carefully, drink slowly, don't choke." As he spoke, he slowly poured the strongly odorous soup from the earthenware pot into the funnel, his expression gentle, as if feeding a severely injured patient.
"This is..."
Listening to the faint mumbles from the cellar, Drogon on the window sill was slightly startled. Could it be the Sorcerer Varys was feeding inside? That bastard,
After the Sorcerer persecuted Varys, he threw him outside to fend for himself. Varys barely survived by begging and stealing.
Later, he discovered that stolen letters and notes were far more valuable than gold. So he found clever and astute children, taught them how to climb walls, sneak in, crawl through flues, read, and write, slowly forming a small intelligence network to collect and sell information.
His wealth steadily accumulated, and his reputation gradually reached the ears of Mad King Aerys, who recruited him as Master of Whisperers, specifically to uncover unfavorable remarks about himself and ministers plotting against him.
Varys's fame grew, and he slowly became a figure both feared and hated by the ministers and nobles of King's Landing.
When his Little Birds flew across two continents, he easily found the Sorcerer who had harmed him, that bastard, and occasionally monitored his health.
What a ruthless person!
Watching Varys patiently feed the Sorcerer, Drogon couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
It's hard to imagine that such a person would dedicate himself to serving the people. Is this what they call great love born from great hatred?
Drogon pondered Varys's character from outside the window. Inside, the feeding had finished. Varys unhurriedly covered the cellar lid tightly, hammered in the nails, put the claw hammer back in the drawer, and sat silently by the window, staring out without moving, lost in thought.