As soon as Viserys finished speaking, a few sneers rippled through the crowd.
"Lord Viserys, if the Iron Bank is so wealthy, why don't we just rob them instead of playing mercenaries?"
The remark came from Darsent, who had recently dyed his hair blue again. His sarcastic suggestion was met with laughter from around the tent. The laughter wasn't just from those who doubted Viserys's strength, but also from those who found the comparison amusing.
Viserys chose not to respond, opting to ignore the taunt.
At that moment, Dick, seated beside him, spoke up:
"Viserys, here's the reality. We all know about the so-called pirate gatherings. But to carry out a 'decapitation operation,' we'd first need to pinpoint their exact location. Secondly, these gatherings attract pirates from all over—The Summer Sea, the Narrow Sea, the Iron Islands..."
Dick was implying that not only was it difficult to locate the pirates, but they were also heavily guarded. Breaking through their defenses would be nearly impossible without a full-scale naval assault. Furthermore, pirate leaders aren't pushovers; they're well-protected by bodyguards who are just as formidable.
'If we bring too many people, we risk being detected before we can even strike. Too few, and we'd be walking into a death trap.'
What Dick described aligned closely with what Viserys had anticipated.
"And they prefer to hold their transactions in caves—natural fortresses that are difficult to assault," Dick added.
"Why caves?" Viserys asked, sensing he had uncovered a critical detail.
"I heard they once had an incident where one pirate tried to steal from another. The limited space of a cave offers both protection and an emergency stronghold."
"Thank you for the insight, Lord Dick," Viserys said, smiling as he sat down.
Many in the tent dismissed his proposal as a brief diversion, assuming he would abandon the idea after hearing Dick's explanation. However, Viserys had seized upon a crucial piece of information—caves! Caves, by their very nature, had poor ventilation.
If he could find a way to smoke or suffocate the pirates inside, he wouldn't need a large force. And given that pirates likely didn't have access to "gas masks," the plan seemed even more viable.
Sellswords didn't adhere to any international conventions—they used whatever methods were at their disposal. Poisoning, after all, was just another tool in their arsenal.
After the meeting, Viserys began to experiment.
A few days later, he took Regis and Jorah to a remote, uninhabited area—a windswept slope with sparse vegetation, the landscape bare and desolate. Following Viserys's instructions, they set up a small tent and placed some rabbits and pheasants inside. The rabbits were silent, but the pheasants kept clucking incessantly, filling the tent with noise.
At the tent's entrance, they set up a clay pot and lit a fire beneath it.
"Go!"
As the liquid in the clay pot began to boil, Viserys instructed Jorah to add a pinch of salt. Neither of them understood what was happening, but soon something magical occurred. Yellow-green gas began to rise from the pot.
"Fan the fire! Harder!"
Jorah and Regis grabbed large fans, working furiously to blow the gas into the tent.
"Harder! Harder! Be careful not to breathe it in! It will kill you!"
With these words, they redoubled their efforts, fanning the fire with even greater urgency. Suddenly, they noticed the pheasants and rabbits in the tent had fallen eerily silent.
After a few tense minutes, not a sound could be heard from inside.
Jorah and Regis immediately realized the truth—the yellow-green smoke was poisonous. But how had Viserys known? A chill ran down Jorah's spine as he regretted ever considering assassinating Viserys. He couldn't fathom the consequences if he had actually tried.
He shuddered to think of another scenario: if he succeeded in killing Daenerys but Viserys escaped, the wrath Viserys would unleash on Bear Island would be devastating. Jorah had no doubt now—Viserys had the power to turn Bear Island into a barren wasteland.
He glanced back at Viserys, who stood behind them, watching the tent with cold, unfeeling eyes, as if this were a trivial matter.
"Stop!"
After a while, the reaction between the hydrochloric acid and salt in the clay pot subsided, and the three of them opened the tent. Inside, the rabbits and pheasants lay motionless.
The horrific scene sent a shiver down Jorah and Regis's spines. Blood oozed from the mouths and noses of the caged animals. The rabbits, in particular, had their pale red eyes turned scarlet, their limbs stiff and twisted in the throes of their final struggle. Hairs and bloodstains clung to their bodies and the cage, evidence of the agony inflicted by the poisonous smoke.
This deadly gas, capable of killing chickens and rabbits, could easily take human lives as well. On a battlefield, soldiers wouldn't need to face an enemy charge; they would succumb to the smoke before they had a chance to fight.
Smoke—an invisible killer that armor could not defend against. Jorah and Regis were relieved to be Viserys's men and not his enemies. As long as they remained loyal, they would be safe from this deadly weapon.
However, what they didn't know was that Viserys's crude methods produced only a low concentration of hydrochloric acid, weakening the potency of the chlorine gas. In an open area like the plains, its lethality would be limited. The gas was most effective in confined spaces, where it could linger and concentrate.
Viserys's technical limitations meant he couldn't create true "poison gas bombs" that could be deployed at a distance, further restricting the weapon's effectiveness. When he learned from Dick that the pirates had chosen a "safe" cave fortress for their meeting, Viserys saw an opportunity. He wouldn't need a large force; he just needed to infiltrate the cave and release the poison.
"Good, it worked. Let's go back and prepare more," Viserys said, instructing Jorah to stay behind and clean up while he left with Regis.
On the way back, Regis looked at Viserys with newfound awe. Once they returned, Viserys immediately began mass-producing the gas, estimating that the pirates' caves were sizable and filled with people. To ensure the gas's effectiveness, he prepared nearly 200 more containers of concentrated hydrochloric acid.
With this deadly weapon in hand, Viserys confirmed the pirates' location and decided to speak with the old captain. This was a prime opportunity for a lucrative hunt. Beyond the treasures the pirates might have, their heads alone were worth a fortune. Volantis offered generous bounties for notorious pirates, and if Viserys succeeded, he stood to make a considerable profit.