Chapter 76: They Need a Beating
The newly freedmen of Meereen had long regarded Mossador as a hero of the slave uprising. The moment Daenerys had him executed, their outrage exploded.
They didn't only turn their anger toward Daenerys—they lashed out at the Great Masters and their supporters as well.
And thus, the riots now tearing through Meereen were born.
---
After hearing Jorah's account, Drogon weighed the matter in his mind.
Daenerys had not been wrong to kill Mossador.
No matter his motive—whether hatred, or the arrogance of a man who believed his role in the uprising made him untouchable—he had openly defied the queen's ruling.
He murdered, in secret, a prisoner who had already been declared subject to a public trial.
Whether to uphold her authority or the rule of law, Daenerys had no choice but to execute him.
The situation reminded Drogon of Robb Stark executing Lord Rickard Karstark.
The resemblance was striking.
Yet there was a key difference.
Karstark had murdered two captive boys—hostages, though of high birth. Robb had beheaded him in the name of honor.
But in the chaos of war, with blood feuds on every side, how much was honor truly worth?
Karstark's sons had died in battle. His thirst for vengeance burned with nowhere to go—especially after Robb's mother, Catelyn, had freed Jaime Lannister, trading him for her daughters.
Robb never considered whom Karstark could turn to for justice. In rage and helplessness, Karstark chose the prisoners.
Yet Robb, clinging to his personal code, ignored the desperate pleas of his wife, his mother, and his bannermen—and executed him anyway, costing himself half his strength.
Bluntly put, Robb had reaped what he sowed.
Daenerys' case was different.
The freedmen who now hated the woman they once called Mhysa—their "mother"—were, at best, naive and simple, clinging to crude notions of good and evil and blind hatred for the masters.
At worst, they were ignorant and ungrateful.
They did not care why Daenerys executed Mossador.
They did not consider the consequences of defying a queen's authority.
A single fallen "hero," and they turned on the one who had freed them all.
Their cries of Mhysa had proven painfully cheap.
"They need discipline."
That was Drogon's verdict on the rioting freedmen.
---
Tyrion, listening to the cause of the unrest, couldn't help recalling the Battle of the Blackwater—the very battle where he had been wounded defending King's Landing.
The nobles he had saved had not spoken for him at his trial.
Instead, they had blindly condemned him as a kingslayer.
Daenerys had freed every slave in Meereen, yet because she executed one man who deserved to die, the majority of those very freedmen now hated her and rose against her.
Even Tyrion felt it was unjust.
Shireen, seated quietly, also furrowed her small brows in thought, trying to recall something from the books she had read—some precedent, some solution that history might offer.
Daenerys herself had harbored a trace of guilt over Mossador's death. But after hearing Drogon's thoughts, that guilt vanished.
She had not killed the wrong man. She had not betrayed Meereen's slaves.
This riot reminded her of Astapor half a month ago. Once again, she was confronted with the unpredictable, contradictory hearts of the freed.
---
Gathering her thoughts, Daenerys let Tyrion and the others reflect in silence and resumed the council meeting that had been interrupted by their arrival.
"Daario," she asked, "from your experience in Slaver's Bay, do you know the true origins of the Sons of the Harpy?"
Daario frowned. "They're extremely secretive. I don't know much. Only that the group seems tied to nobles from New and Old Ghis, along with slave masters from Slaver's Bay. They act to protect those interests. No fixed base. No known supreme leader."
Daenerys nodded, about to continue—
The council chamber doors suddenly opened. An Unsullied entered and handed a scroll to Grey Worm. He passed it to Barristan, who examined the seal.
"Varys' mark," he murmured, handing it to Daenerys.
She read it. With every line, her expression darkened.
When she finished, she announced, "The Wise Masters of Yunkai have secretly contacted the nobles of New and Old Ghis. They are preparing to attack Yunkai. Astapor will be struck at the same time."
"A coordinated offensive…" Drogon realized at once. Coupled with today's riots in Meereen, this was clearly a planned, large-scale operation.
The others exchanged troubled looks.
"Ser Jorah," Daenerys said after a pause, "your counsel?"
"Reinforcements must be sent to both Astapor and Yunkai. A thousand Unsullied won't hold a city. Meereen's defenses must also be strengthened—especially against the Sons of the Harpy striking from within."
She nodded, then turned. "Grey Worm?"
"I will lead the Unsullied to Yunkai or Astapor," he said firmly.
"Your Grace," Barristan objected at once, "Grey Worm must remain. The Sons of the Harpy target you. Yunkai and Astapor can be retaken if lost."
"I have you to protect me," Daenerys replied calmly—and silently added, and Drogon.
"Meereen itself is unstable. If attacked from without while unrest continues within, even this pyramid won't be secure," Barristan insisted.
She knew he spoke out of loyalty. But she could not abandon the two thousand Unsullied stationed in Yunkai and Astapor—nor let Daario, one of her brother Rhaegar's former loyal men, die because she withheld aid.
After a moment, she gave her orders.
"Daario, take two thousand Second Sons to reinforce Astapor.
Grey Worm, send Little Sparrow with two thousand Unsullied to Yunkai. They will support Daario and hold the city."
Daario wanted nothing more than to stay at her side. But this was no time to refuse.
"Your Grace," he said after a pause, "I need only a thousand men. The rest of the Second Sons could remain in Meereen and gather intelligence on the Sons of the Harpy."
The Sons hid among ordinary citizens, donning their golden Harpy masks only during assassinations. The Unsullied struggled to root them out.
Mercenaries, however, thrived in taverns, brothels, and bathhouses—places where whispers flowed freely.
There, information could be found.