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"I was still a squire at the time. During a hunt, my horse tripped over a branch, causing me to fall and get injured. I got separated from the rest of the group," Ian casually fabricated a new story.
He liked telling stories because they helped solidify his image in the minds of his targets, allowing him to deliver the message he wanted more effectively.
"Then I got lost in the forest, wandering aimlessly until evening. I was terrified. There were many dangerous animals in that forest, and I was too weak to defend myself at night."
"Fortunately, just before nightfall, a group of bandits passed by. As soon as they saw the golden lion emblem on my armor, they captured me without hesitation, planning to ransom me for thirty golden dragons."
"I agreed, and I was able to save my life with money. I was secretly relieved at the time."
"But soon, through their conversation, I learned that they had once belonged to a bandit group wiped out by my family. This time, they were planning to escape back to their homeland. They had stumbled upon me by chance and saw an opportunity to make some easy money."
"They had no intention of letting you go after getting the ransom," Denzel said, understanding Ian's point. "To return home and survive, they would need to get revenge."
"Exactly," Ian nodded. "That night, I told the bandit guarding me to let me go, promising him more money."
"He believed you would actually pay him instead of running away and leaving him to die?" Denzel asked, skeptical.
"He's here," Ian said, tapping Roll's breastplate beside him.
"This... Sir?" Both Denzel and Sir Grantham looked horrified.
Roll, momentarily stunned, quickly hid his surprise, drawing on his "Old Dog" experience.
"They're not knights, just my attendants," Ian explained, pointing to Roll. "And this man was the bandit who guarded me at the time. He was strong and powerful, and unlike the others, he wasn't interested in running off with them. After I escaped, I offered him a deal. He asked for 100 gold dragons to let me go."
"I agreed, and then he killed the other four bandits that night. I was stunned but immediately offered him a position as my squire."
"How can you trust a man who betrayed his comrades?" Sir Grantham frowned.
"What did he betray them for?" Ian asked, a smile playing on his lips.
"Money."
"Whose money?"
Sir Grantham was left speechless.
"100 gold dragons is almost three times my ransom. Since then, I've considered 3 my lucky number. Anyone working for me gets paid three times the normal wage. I also tell them that if anyone tries to make them betray me, they should come straight to me, because I'll offer three times what the other person is offering."
Ian had borrowed this tactic from Tyrion's approach with Bronn. He personally thought it worked very well—and had even doubled it.
"I have no issue with that. We'll follow your terms. Half of the payment upfront, and the rest after a month," Sir Grantham said, lowering his head in formal agreement.
Denzel took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Well, Sir Lucian, do you still need an attendant?"
Denzel glanced at Sir Grantham's reaction and couldn't help but laugh. "Don't you think it would be better to serve as Sir Lucian's squire? There are plenty of ways to make money as a mercenary here."
"I just didn't expect you to be like this," Sir Grantham frowned, unable to come up with the right words.
"If you perform well enough in the next mission, I'll consider your offer," Ian said, drawing another figurative pie. "I've been thinking about naming Mr. 'Old Dog' a knight. If that happens, there'll be an opening for an attendant position."
"You'll never find a better sword than mine," Denzel suddenly grinned.
Every mercenary always said that, Ian thought, cursing under his breath.
Looking at the situation, Grantham suddenly had an odd thought. It would have been great if he hadn't become a knight so that he could serve as a squire to Sir Lucian.
Thinking of this, he decided to shift the conversation and asked aloud, "After all this talk, you still haven't told us what the mission is?"
"Don't worry," Ian replied, "Once Martha convinces Black Falcon, I'll assign tasks to all of you."
"Black Falcon? Are you here for the ghosts of White Wall City?" Denzel asked, speaking without thinking.
"Oh? Is Black Falcon really behind the White Wall City robbers?" Ian raised an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued.
"That's not exactly true," Denzel shook his head. "Black Falcon is also trying to track down the whereabouts of the thieves."
"Also?" Ian pressed. "Then why doesn't he work with the local wealthy knights' alliance?"
"They did cooperate for a while, but several joint operations failed. After that, they started accusing each other of having spies within their ranks, and they eventually split," Denzel explained.
"I can understand why those wealthy knights continued to hunt down the bandits after they parted ways. But Black Falcon is a mercenary leader. Why would he keep pursuing these thieves? It can't be just to clear his name. That would be a bit naïve, wouldn't it?"
"Don't you know?" Sir Grantham asked, a bit confused.
"Know what?" Ian returned, equally puzzled.
Grantham paused for a moment, but didn't immediately answer. Instead, Denzel, clearly impatient, spoke up. "Blackfire's national treasure of restoration! We thought you were here for that."
"What?" Ian's face twisted in surprise. "The Blackfire Restoration Treasure? Explain yourself."
"Haha," Denzel chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. My mercenaries only joined their first operation. At that time, we were well-prepared. Sir Wilder and Black Falcon managed to gather nearly 500 men to wipe out the bandits in White Wall City once and for all. But when we reached their camp, it was completely abandoned. We couldn't find a single trace."
"So you're under suspicion?" Ian asked, piecing things together.
"Yes," Denzel confirmed. "Sir Wilder and the others suspected there was a mole in the group. So, they removed all us temporary mercenaries from the operation. But even after we were dismissed, they still couldn't find any trace of the bandits. After that, the group started fighting amongst themselves."
Denzel continued, "They split up to search on their own, but still came up empty-handed. That's when the theory started circulating that the bandits were actually the ghosts of the Black Fire Legion. They were convinced that the bandits had to be the ones to initiate an attack on us, not the other way around."
"The ghosts of the Black Fire Legion?" Ian raised an eyebrow. "I can understand the ghost part, but how is it connected to the Black Fire Legion? Where did this talk of the Black Fire Treasure come from? Is it because the bandits are based in White Wall City?"
Ian paused as he recalled his own knowledge of the White Walled City.
The White Walled City had once been the seat of the Bartway family, located on the east coast of God's Eye Lake, situated between the lake and the King's Road.
The city was originally known as the Milk House due to its striking white walls, fortresses, and towers, all made from high-quality white stones. These stones were mined from a valley and transported across the mountains to the shores of God's Eye Lake.
According to descriptions in "Mysterious Knight," the floors and pillars in the city were made of milky white marble, with natural golden veins running through them. The beams were carved from bone-white weirwood trees.
It was a castle with a somewhat dreamlike quality.
But why "was"? Because the White Walled City had been destroyed—ruined during the second Blackfire Rebellion, an event so childish in nature that it hardly seemed real.