Ghosts of White Wall City (I) Please Vote

"Actually, we only just told Ser Lucian about the Blackfyre treasure," Ser Glason added.

"I'm sorry, Ser. I'm sorry." Adopted son Dorian suddenly looked deeply embarrassed.

"You have just lost the person closest to you. I sincerely and profoundly understand how you feel. I will forgive any loss of composure or suspicion you show because of this."

"Thank you for understanding, Ser."

"However, if you truly want to avenge your adoptive father, you need to sit down now and help me reconstruct the truth."

"The truth? You mentioned before that this room belonged to a knight of the Grafton family! He is the murderer, isn't he?" Dorian asked.

"The Grafton family of Gulltown in the Vale. Can you think of any connection between them and your adoptive father?"

"Uh..." Dorian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No."

"Then this clue cannot give us any conclusions for now. The murderer may have once been a sworn knight loyal to the Grafton family, but later renounced his vows and became a sellsword knight while taking his equipment with him. Or perhaps some sellsword knight simply happened to buy or seize such a set of heraldic equipment. Armor is different from a crested sword. Knights rarely use another family's crested sword, but they gladly accept armor bearing another family's crest, because armor is too expensive. It proves nothing."

"I was rash. Ask away, and I will tell you everything I know."

Ian nodded in satisfaction before beginning his questions. "Why did Black Falcon come to this inn yesterday?"

"He did not say. My adoptive father had always been forceful. We rarely asked why whenever he gave an order."

"So you do not know who he came here to meet?"

"No."

"He stayed alone in a separate room last night. Was that his habit as well?"

"No. Although my adoptive father was forceful when making decisions, he put on no airs in daily life. He usually ate and slept with everyone else, so I was puzzled when he asked for a room to himself yesterday." Adopted son Dorian sank into recollection.

"You did not ask him?"

"I did not dare, Ser."

"Before he went to meet the murderer in the middle of the night, he did not go to the large room where you slept and wake anyone either?"

"No. Piel is a light sleeper." Adopted son Dorian pointed to a young man behind him, about his own age and roughly fifteen years old. "If my adoptive father had come by, he would definitely have woken up."

"In other words, despite bringing so many of you to the inn, Black Falcon still chose to meet the murderer alone? Yet he clearly did not trust the other party. Before setting out, he put on his armor." Ian asked.

"That was his favorite set of armor, and also his best." Dorian nodded in agreement with Ian's assessment.

"So their meeting was a secret—or rather, they were going to discuss a secret. A secret he did not want anyone in the mercenary company to know. But perhaps he told you. You are his adopted son, are you not?"

"He treated me as his own son, but he did not tell me any secret!"

"Think carefully."

Dorian gulped down a mouthful of Summer Red, then began to search his memories. After a while, his expression visibly grew anxious. The anxiety lasted for a long time before he suddenly clenched both fists and slammed them onto the table, then shook his head wildly.

"I don't know. I can't remember. I can't remember anything. Maybe my adoptive father really did say something, but I did not take it to heart." Dorian began to cry as he spoke. "I deserve to die. I can't remember! Ah!" At last, Dorian let out a loud roar, as though trying to vent the knot in his heart.

"Crying can effectively ease terrible emotions, but blaming yourself endlessly is useless. Your adoptive father was murdered by his enemy. You are no longer a fledgling sheltered beneath his wings. You must become the new Black Falcon yourself." Suppressing the irritation in his heart, Ian spoke patiently. I'm fucking good at being a counselor.

"The new Black Falcon? But my adoptive father's mercenary company has already been taken away. I have many friends in the company, but most of them only respected me for my adoptive father's sake. If we are being honest, my influence in the company now ranks at most third. I cannot compete with the Lame or Ser Harrison."

"But you can avenge your adoptive father. That is the first step." Another fucking Ser. Help, I can't even tell whose name belongs to whom anymore.

"But I simply cannot remember what secret my adoptive father told me!"

"That is why I will help you. You only need to tell me everything you know. I will find a way to deal with the rest."

"What I know? You mean about the Blackfyre treasure? So your goal really is the Blackfyre treasure?!"

Why was this kid so sharp? He was not easy to fool! "Would you believe me if I said no?"

Dorian shook his head.

"Then, knowing that I covet the Blackfyre treasure, would you still ask me to help avenge your adoptive father?"

Dorian froze for a moment, then nodded with an uneasy expression.

"So why are you dwelling on such an unimportant question? Black Falcon was most likely murdered because of the secret of the Blackfyre treasure. Now that Black Falcon is dead, mourn him and move on. Since he is already dead, and you have no means to compete for the treasure, what harm is there in letting me try? You would not want the people who killed your adoptive father to get it, would you?"

"You really are frank. Forgive me, Ser. I was too narrow-minded. As long as you can help me take revenge, I am willing to tell you every secret I know. Where should I start? What do you already know?"

"Basically nothing." Ian shrugged. "So you need to tell me everything you know." I have plenty of time anyway.

"I do not know which information is important. How about I start from the beginning, and you can ask questions whenever you think something is important?"

"Fine."

"The beginning... Where would be best to start? We were actually the first to clash with the bandit gang known as the Ghosts of White Wall City." Adopted son Dorian pondered for a moment before beginning.

Ian looked suspiciously at Gransen. He remembered Gransen clearly saying that the first person to discover this bandit gang had been Ser Veld Gray, the leader of the local landed knights. But Gransen merely shook his head, indicating that he did not know which incident Dorian meant either.

"It was only that we did not know such a bandit gang existed at the time," the adopted son continued, unaware of Ian's movement. "That was four months ago. A traveling merchant caravan came to Ser Harrison's castle. Oh, that was the main base of our mercenary company, fifteen leagues (72 kilometers) northeast of the ruins of White Wall City, near the Kingsroad."

Fine, then I'll call this Harrison 'Landlord Ser.' Ian thought to himself.