Chapter 99 - Opportunity of Epochs (Patreon)

This was somewhat sensitive information that Valkorion came across from the Red Temple, and it was also pretty valuable information at the same time.

However, the knowledge that the Freehold didn't have any King of Angels came rather handy because it was clear that the Five-Headed Dragon God wasn't keen on sharing the faith generated by the population of the Freehold.

Though Mellisandre said that it was possible that one of the Triarchy had a King of Angels in their ranks, that was just a theory and nothing more. Still, Valkorion found it somewhat believable because it would explain their superior position over the other Dragonlord Families.

Especially the House Belaerys, which held the dominant position among the Dragonlord Families, and they were the closest thing that the Valyrian Freehold had to the ruling family.

"You truly believe so?"

Camille Ferros raised her brows as she looked at Valkorion, who seemed to be very sure that something bad was going to happen. It was evident that Valkorion wasn't going to say what was going to happen because this was related to the True Gods and stuff that was way above his power level.

And had some feeling that Mellisandre's God and Astral didn't have any good intentions for the Valyrian Freehold as a whole. Based on Valkorion's interaction with the Astral, it was clear that 'He' didn't care even a bit about the fate of the Valyrians.

"Yeah... you said it yourself, not? The increased activity of various unsavory individuals coupled with the Dreams of the Targaryens to the point where one of the Forty Dragonlord Families is essentially leaving the Freehold behind."

She thought it over as his words indeed had some merit in them because the Clan Ferros had access to the information that was rather confidential, and she knew that several of the most prominent Secret Organizations, Evil Cults, and other types of Beyonder Organizations were making their moves within the Freehold.

Which wasn't generally accepted as a piece of good news.

On the contrary, many of the more skeptical members of the Freehold thought that it was rather a bad omen. Camille also had access to information which was talking about the general decrease in the Dragon population within the Valyrian Peninsula.

This was something that was known only to a few people, and her father paid a lot of money to obtain this information. Yet it seemed that most of the Dragons that were living in the wilderness were moving out from the Peninsula to the Sothoryos, Ulthos, Eastern Essos and some were headed even towards the other continents.

It was as if they all sensed that something was going to happen in this place and preemptively left the place.

"Lately, there have been reports of sighing of the Black Vatican, Mythic Dawn, and Order of the Black Worm in the Freehold."

The first one was unknown to Valkorion, but he recognized the two of the other names because both of them were from the Elder Scrolls and were the devout worshippers of the Deadric Princes even though the Order of the Black Worm was worshipping primarily Mannimarco and Mol...

Mythic Dawn was no less threatening in the cannon of the Elder Scrolls as it was worshipping the Deadric Prince of Destruction and was considered a very powerful Cult, so if they existed even in this world, it was a problem.

Hearing that two of them were here meant that they were worshipping some of the most dangerous Deadric Princes one could imagine. And even though he didn't know what the Black Vatican was, it must be some really powerful and evil Secret Organization if it was on the same level as the Order of the Back Worm and Mythic Dawn.

"In the Orange Shores, I had an encounter with sizeable numbers from the Cult of the Damned."

As soon as he said that, Camille became more serious as they stopped in the middle of the street, and she looked straight at him for several moments. Any news related to the Cult of the Damned were not good news.

And the fact that the Cult of the Damned dared to enter the territory of the Valyrian Freehold meant that something was indeed happening that was obvious to all.

"We should talk about that in private."

She said as they returned soon to the headquarters, and for the rest of the journey, they were chatting about some more inconsequential matters and leading small talk. Fortunately, they were not far from their destination, or else, he wouldn't be able to keep doing the small talk as that wasn't really his area of expertise.

When they arrived back at the Ferros Chamber of Commerce, they were led to Camille's private quarters.

"Maybe you are right... according to everything we have gathered, the Dragonlords won't bother acting as long as the threat is not visible and real enough for them to see, but right now, we have just some random signs and nothing more."

Camille Ferros knew that the Dragonlord Families wouldn't act based on someone suspecting that something may happen and increasing activity of the Evil Cults and Secret Organizations around the entirety of the Freehold.

They would most probably write it off as pure coincidence and go with their day.

"Of course, I am... for that reason, I am planning to leave this place and go somewhere else. In my opinion, this place is doomed, and because of that, in a few years, I plan to leave the Freehold entirely and go to the northern continent Valoran."

Valkorion stated that Camille Ferros was someone whom he could trust, as he knew that the woman was trustworthy to people with whom she was close. She could be trusted with this information, and Valkorion also wanted for her to be interested in this so she could see this as a business endeavor and provide her support for this.

"So that's why... you are planning to cultivate the slave force into the proper fighting force that could be used to create the foundation on the Valoran for you once you land, right?"

She was smart enough to figure out his primary intentions, though it wasn't actually anything that hard to realize in the end. Now it was falling together why he wanted to create a mercenary band as strong as possible and why he was avoiding going into the heartlands of Valyria.

At least partially.

Meanwhile, Valkorion was hoping to obtain some sort of sponsorship from Camille Ferros for this endeavor because it would make everything easier. With the financial support from the Clan Ferros, his endeavors in the Valoran would be much easier, and he would also have an easier time creating and growing the mercenary organization.

The continuous support of the Clan Ferros would be invaluable for him.

"Yes... to build a lasting foundation, I need numbers, and I want to use every single advantage that the Valyrian Freehold has to offer while it still stands."

Valkorion knew that even when the Camille Ferros didn't believe the things about the Doom of the Valyria, she would still see the expedition to the Valoran as a huge business opportunity and also, the creation of a trustworthy mercenary band would be beneficial for the Clan Ferros.