"I am a generous person, very generous," Ian said, clearly pleased with Martha's response. "From the moment we entered, you've been calling us three knights. I didn't correct you earlier, but in fact, these two are merely my attendants."
"Squires?!" Martha looked up at Rohr and Case, as though expecting them to contradict him. But she was quickly disappointed, as the two men sat respectfully on Ian's bed, not showing the slightest hint of displeasure.
"These are rewards for loyalty and hard work," Ian said, pulling his hands away from his sides and placing them on Rohr and Keith's shoulders. "I told you I'm generous, and I am also very wealthy."
At that moment, the golden dragon was fully exposed before Martha. She stared at the gold coin, so close, but didn't dare to reach out for it.
"My father owns 20 ocean-going ships. Our family's trading fleet travels to Volantis, Qarth, and even Yi Ti, bringing back tens of thousands of golden dragons every year."
"And I, who will inherit all of this in the future, am being questioned."
"They say I lack ability, that I'm without wisdom or courage. But I told them none of that matters, because I have money. Enough money to hire the wisest and bravest men to serve me, making me invincible."
"Finally, I made a bet with Uncle Jaime, and he asked me to take my two squires to hunt down a group of fugitives who committed crimes in King's Landing. I want to prove my ability to him through this action." Ian picked up a golden dragon and placed it into Martha's hand.
"If things go well and I'm satisfied, I might even give you the entire bounty the queen has offered for this. But if things go wrong, I may become someone very difficult to deal with. Do you understand how important this is to me?"
"Yes," Martha nodded.
"So, can you convince Black Falcon to help me?" Ian asked with a smile.
The story he had just told wasn't really meant for Martha. For someone like her, the mere sight of the gold dragon would have been enough to win her over.
The real reason Ian shared this story was to ensure she would repeat it to Black Falcon.
Based on his understanding of a commoner like Martha, Ian could already imagine how she would tell this story to her old acquaintance, after having met such a "powerful" person.
After all, Ian wanted to work directly with Black Falcon. It wouldn't be wise to brag about his power to him personally, so having Martha act as the messenger was the perfect solution.
"Of course, Sir, if it were you, I think Boss Morgan would be more than willing to offer his support," Martha replied, nodding nervously.
Everyone knows how to flatter for money. "By the way, are all the mercenaries in your inn currently from Black Falcon?"
"Ah, no, only half. There are a total of 17 people," Martha paused for a moment, recalling. "Six of them are from the 'Sword Face' mercenary group, which is a subordinate of Black Falcon, and the other ten arrived with Black Falcon this afternoon."
"Do you know everyone here?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because of this." Ian tapped the golden dragon on the table.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I talk too much. Well, everyone Boss Morgan brought today, I know them all." Martha thought for a moment, then affirmed, "Yes, I know them all."
"Among the guests staying today, are there any you don't recognize?" Ian asked again.
"Oh..." Seven Hells! Martha cursed in her mind. "This is a crossroads, Sir. It's impossible for anyone to know every single guest here."
"I don't expect you to know everyone. I just need to know how many new guests checked in after 8 o'clock this morning. I need to know the information about each one of them."
Although the chance of a player being among these new arrivals was slim, Ian didn't want to take any chances.
"I'm not always in the hall, and I might have missed something. I need to confirm this with Jenny and the others."
"You can ask her, but you can't tell her why. I don't want anyone to know that I came here to capture fugitives."
"But without Jenny's help, many things would be difficult. Most of the time, I'll be in the kitchen, and I would warn her not to do anything without me."
"No, when one person tells another a secret that doesn't belong to them, it's not convincing to ask the other to keep it secret. If you strongly insist on her involvement, you must tell her yourself after I warn her. She's everything."
"Okay, Jazz."
"Before breakfast tomorrow, I want a detailed list of the strange guests who arrived here yesterday."
"List?"
"Not by name—just tell me who they are."
"Okay, Jazz."
"Also, you said that only half of the mercenaries in this inn are Black Falcon's men?"
"Yes."
"Then hire the other half as well. I want absolute control over this place." Ian paused. "Of course, that excludes the strange mercenaries who just arrived today. Ignore them, just note the others."
"Except for the strange mercenaries who arrived today," Martha knew better than to question the unusual terms, "Are there any other mercenaries needed? Including teams or individuals?"
"How many single mercenaries are there?"
"Not many, just a few. I didn't keep track of them in detail."
"What about the mercenary teams?"
"There are two mercenary teams, led by Denzel 'Spiky' and Sir Grantham."
"A hedge knight?"
"He said so himself."
"Okay, for those scattered mercenaries, assign them tasks and send them out."
"What tasks?"
"It doesn't matter what the task is—delivering letters, delivering wine—just make sure they get as far away from here as possible."
"But they definitely won't complete the task as you expect. They'll take your money and find somewhere far to enjoy themselves."
"So, what was my original goal?"
"To get them out of here." Martha paused mid-sentence. "Forgive my stupidity, Sir."
"As for the two mercenary teams, I can hire them at three times the market price, provided they are absolutely loyal to me. Can I do that?"
"Of course, at that price," Martha replied, though she silently added to herself, You can ask them to do anything, even absurd things, but I won't say that aloud.
"When negotiating with them, don't reveal my true purpose. Just mention the reward, and arrange for the two captains to meet me when the time is right."
Martha nodded.
"Are you sure you remember everything?"
"Um..." Martha hesitated, then quickly shook her head. "You gave me so many orders, and I'm worried I might have missed something."
"Can you read?"
"Sorry, Jazz."
"In that case, you'd better memorize my instructions, especially the details. I won't tolerate any negligence or mistakes," Ian said, repeating his orders to Martha once more.
It was a hassle, but not nearly as much as the trouble of things going wrong.
It took Ian a full ten minutes to make sure that Martha had written down everything correctly, despite her mediocre memory.
"Now," Ian pointed to the golden dragon on the table after confirming Martha had remembered all his instructions, "Take them with you. This is your deposit. If everything goes well, I'll pay you the same amount again when everything is done."
"May the Seven Gods bless you, generous lord," Martha beamed, eagerly stuffing all the remaining golden dragons into her bag.
"Clear the table, I'm going to rest."
Only then did Martha notice that the table, once full of food, had already been cleaned by the two attendants who had said not a word.
Martha hurriedly left the room, and soon, two men came in to clean.
Out of habit, Ian asked the waiter to bring him a basin. He rinsed his mouth, washed his face and feet, then extinguished the oil lamp and lay down on a three-layer straw mat.
The groundwork for his plan was nearly complete. He just had to wait until tomorrow to finish talking with Black Falcon and the two mercenary captains, and then the hunt would begin.
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