Ghosts of White Wall City (Part Two)

But history did not favor House Darry a second time.

Not far south of this inn, on the banks of the Green Fork River, the Battle of the Trident River erupted, deciding the outcome of the War of the Usurper.

At the time, Robert Baratheon led a great army south and encountered the royalist forces led by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the Dragon Mother's brother. A fierce battle broke out between them.

During the battle, Robert smashed his hammer into Rhaegar's chest, shattering the ruby Targaryen three-headed dragon on Rhaegar's breastplate and killing him. It was also in this battle that the three brothers of Raimon Dary, the current lord of Castle Darry, died.

Afterward, the Targaryen Dynasty fell. House Darry lost most of its lands, wealth, and power as a result, even losing its title of count.

By then, every great noble house along both northeastern shores of Gods Eye Lake had either been wiped out or was barely clinging to life, soon to perish in the War of the Five Kings.

(Considering there were no great noble houses at all along the southwestern shores of Gods Eye Lake, could it be that what was truly cursed was not Harrenhal, but Gods Eye Lake?)

"Uh, all right, there really are no great lords here." Ian awkwardly smoothed his hair. "So who has this land actually been granted to now?"

"After Castle Darry and Harrenhal declined, the entire northeastern shore of Gods Eye Lake was divided among nearly forty landed knightly families. The largest holdings included small castles and manors, such as those of Ser Veld Gray, Ser Viri Veld, and our deputy commander, Ser Harrison Garth. The smallest holdings amounted to no more than a single mill."

That really was the same predicament as Littlefinger's.

"After Count Raimon Dary of Castle Darry became merely Ser Raimon, he completely lost interest in managing this land. As a result, the greatest powers in this region became our Black Falcon Mercenary Group and the Knight Alliance led by Ser Veld.

"And the emergence of this well-equipped, well-trained bandit gang, primarily made up of cavalry, undoubtedly upset the balance of power in this land."

"You couldn't possibly face such a troublesome enemy alone, so you chose to ask for help?"

"Oh, you really do know everything." Dorian had already prepared himself for Ian's prophet-like abilities, so he did not seem particularly surprised. "Yes. We immediately sent ravens to Harrenhal, Castle Darry, and Ser Veld's castle, informing them of the matter.

"But none of them responded. Naturally, we couldn't face such a formidable enemy by ourselves. Although the White Wall City Bandit Gang was known to have only twenty-odd men, while our entire mercenary group numbered over two hundred, we were mercenaries. We couldn't just go risk our lives against a band of cavalry for no reason.

"So we waited until the second month. The robberies along the Kingsroad became increasingly frequent, and the brothers we sent out on escort missions suffered considerable losses.

"By that point, we could no longer let things continue as they were, so my foster father summoned the Mercenary Captains for another meeting.

"In the end, we decided to shrink our sphere of influence and hold only our existing strongholds. Our core forces would temporarily stop accepting hired missions... We could only preserve the strength of our trusted mercenaries. There was no way to manage the other subordinate squads like that, after all, since we weren't the ones paying their wages.

"Not long after we made that decision, Ser Veld, who had never responded before, actually came to us on his own initiative."

Dorian had spoken so much in one breath that his mouth had gone dry. He filled his cup again and gulped the wine down.

"And this time, he brought explosive news: the bandit gang that had appeared in White Wall City was actually connected to House Blackfyre."

Ian straightened in his seat. He knew the main event had arrived.

"Ser Veld told us about an experience of his. He had just finished a tournament in King's Landing and was returning to his lands. When he passed through Dorman Village, it was already late, so he planned to stay there for the night and continue his journey the next day.

"Unexpectedly, that very night, Dorman Village was attacked by a group of mounted bandits. By the time Ser Veld woke up, half the village was already engulfed in flames. Without a second thought, he grabbed his weapon and rushed out of the room.

"Uh, he told a lot more, but I can't remember any of the details. Anyway, in the end, he chased one bandit into a mud house and fought him inside. During the fight, he slashed open the man's cloak and saw House Blackfyre's black three-headed dragon sigil on his breastplate.

"Once he discovered that the enemy's upper body was covered in plate armor, he immediately changed his approach and focused his attacks on the joints of the man's arms. Before long, he used his superb skill to chop off the opponent's right forearm, leaving him unable to fight.

"However, just as he was about to press his advantage and finish the enemy off, he heard hurried footsteps outside. Knowing the man's reinforcements had arrived, he gave up on killing him and hurriedly fled."

"Didn't you say you couldn't remember the details? Why does it sound like you were there watching?" Ian asked with a smile.

"This was the only part that left a deep impression on me. Ser Veld mentioned a move used to attack enemies in full armor, called the Half-sword technique. Since I had no experience fighting opponents in full armor, I remembered this part especially well."

"All right, continue."

"The news Ser Veld brought was simply too shocking, so my foster father and the others did not quite believe what he claimed to have seen," Dorian continued.

"After all, Maris Blackfyre, the last blood descendant of House Blackfyre, had already been killed by Ser Barristan the Bold during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. It was perfectly normal that no one believed there were suddenly Blackfyre remnants appearing again." Ian nodded. Forget them—I don't fucking believe it either.

"Exactly! That was what we said at the time too. But Ser Veld swore on his honor that he had truly seen the black three-headed dragon. Ser Veld's resolute attitude, combined with the fact that the bandit gang was operating near White Wall City, did make the matter seem much more convincing.

"In the end, everyone agreed to launch a joint operation. After all, if we could find evidence connected to House Blackfyre, we could go to King's Landing and claim credit from the Iron Throne. That would be an enormous achievement."

"Enough to have many people in the mercenary group knighted," Ian agreed.

"This joint operation was launched in the names of Ser Veld and my foster father. We gathered every scattered Mercenary Company we could find in the area. We also sent invitations to Harrenhal and Castle Darry once more, explicitly stating in the letters that the enemy might be connected to House Blackfyre.

"Lady Rowan of Harrenhal, as always, gave no response. Castle Darry, meanwhile, symbolically sent one sworn knight, four spearmen, and four crossbowmen, claiming they had fulfilled their duty to this land."

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