286 AC
He stared out into the yellow city, cast in bloody shades of orange by the red light of the dawning sun. With the end of the festival of the harpy and the dawn of the New Year, it felt as if there was a sort of strange tiredness to it. Even now many were leaving the city, newly bought slaves in tow, while many more came into its folds to be trained.
But perhaps the tiredness was only within his own mind. He had gotten precious little sleep the night before. For by all the gods he was a failure. He knew the pain his daughter suffered and seeing her cry had reopened his own old scars like the fresh cut of a butcher's knife. The memory of the humiliation his Zozzha had suffered before he was able to save her.
He would not blame his daughter if she were to hate him. He well might have come to hate his own father if he put him through this, but then, his father had never had the power to do so. No, his father had never had any power at all, a drunk and a poor fool, but at the very least he had never whored out his Zozzha either.
Was avoiding this not what he had spent all his life in an attempt to achieve?
'If only I had never funded that cursed fleet.' He rubbed at his shoulder. 'Ah, but there is no use at looking to the past now.' When the boy was returned he would be given to Cherazza, and that would be the end of it. His fortunes now stood mostly restored, indeed, with the gold he expected this morning he might well wield more power than he had at his height.
'And there he comes now.'
Chendu Yui was an enormously powerful Merchant from Yi-ti. By virtue of his connections with Qarth, he controlled a near-monopoly on the shipment of silk through the straights of the Jade Sea and into the Ghiscari and Free Cities. While some were shipped overland, this was still enormously profitable, and the man showed it. He did not speak himself, instead having a servant speak for him after interpreting his gestures, and he dressed in a long silk robe that did nothing to disguise his enormously corpulent form, in regards to weight he was only slightly beneath the disgusting form of the Yellow Whale Yezzan Zo Qaggaz, though unlike Yezzan he did not smell of urine and rot, and his hair was well kept black and long, rolled into dozen of curls with hairpins made of jade.
He approached atop the back of one of the two trunked great elephants of Yi-Ti, though of a smaller breed by its size, and with him he brought carts laden with what was likely gold beneath heavy blankets, for he had promised three tons of Gold in exchange for the boys company on the last and most sacred night of the festival. A king's ransom.
Sceztvar descended the stairs of his great stepped pyramid to meet the man, or rather his interpreter. "Greetings oh great and benevolent Lord Chendu," he said, nodding to the enormous man. "I see you have come to fulfill your promise."
The man glanced at him and then gestured several signs. Through which his interpreter replied.
"Indeed, Wise Master Zo Shara, My Lord Chendu found your bed slave quite satisfactory, though he apologizes for the injuries inflicted, as he is quite small."
Sceztvar narrowed his eyes as the dragon-boy was brought out, thankfully intact, but seriously bruised and limping clearly to take his weight off of his left leg. He turned with anger towards the merchant. "I specified that he not be harmed."
The threat was only implied, but very real. He was a Wise Master, and as wealthy as the merchant was, he would be a fool to offend him within the walls of Yunkai.
The merchant made an apologetic bow with his head and gestured to his interpreter once more.
"My master realized that this might offend you, and thus has seen fit to increase the gold he has promised to five tons. He hopes that this will be sufficient apology for the damaged state of the slave."
Sceztvar felt his anger cool somewhat. The Merchant was not insulting him then. The boy would be treated in time, and he would be wealthier than he anticipated.
'No, perhaps I will not.' He would give the excess gold to his daughter. It was her love for the boy that made him request that the child not be injured anyhow, so truly it ought to be her who received the money in apology.
"Very well." He said, turning to the merchant. "Let there be no ill feelings between us."
The corpulent man nodded.
"My Lord thanks you for your understanding. Please, show the servants where to place the bullion while my Lord returns to his ship." He turned to look at his master's signs once more, "my lord looks forward to doing more business with you in the future."
'Cold comfort' Sceztvar thought, as he directed the servants, though he still politely parted with the merchant atop his elephant. This was one more pain he would be unable to spare his daughter. With a careful hand, he moved to support the limping dragon boy so that he could wake better. It was telling that he did flinch when his bruises were held.
Sceztvar let out a long sigh, as the boy turned to stare up towards him. "Come, Viserys. I will take you to Cherazza."