Getting ready

Davion woke early the next morning.

Pia had already been waiting outside his door for quite some time.

When she heard Davion getting up, she came in carrying a basin of warm water.

She set the water down, went back outside, and returned with a tray of bottles and jars.

"My lord Earl, your warm water is ready. You can wash now."

Davion nodded.

As Pia watched Davion wash his face, she went outside again, this time bringing in breakfast.

By Harrenhal's former standards, this whole routine would have required at least five or six maids working together.

Even washing was something Davion would never have had to do himself.

But House Whent had declined far too quickly.

Most of Harrenhal had already fallen into ruin, and the soldiers, servants, and laborers needed just to maintain daily patrols in the remaining areas numbered six or seven hundred.

Now, the people left in Harrenhal could be counted on two hands.

So Pia could only shoulder all these tasks herself.

After a quick wash, Davion went over to his breakfast.

On the plate sat a dark lump of rye bread as hard as a stone.

Beside it was a bowl of oatmeal so watery he could see the bottom.

Davion frowned slightly at the breakfast.

Still, he stuffed the stone-hard rye bread into his mouth without expression.

This was no time to be picky. Having anything to eat was good enough.

Pia stood respectfully to one side, looking as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Davion glanced at her.

"What is it, Pia? Is something wrong?"

At his words, a smile immediately spread across Pia's face.

"My lord Earl, I searched Wes's room last night. He really had embezzled a lot of money! He hid it in a clay pot under his bed. Guess how much there was?"

The dark bread was terribly hard to swallow, so Davion picked up the oatmeal and took a sip to wash it down.

He asked casually:

"Fifty Gold Dragons?"

Pia cried out theatrically.

"Seven above, far more than that! He embezzled seventy-nine Gold Dragons, plus eighty-two Silver Stags! That damned Wes hid all that money and still lied to us that there was nothing left to buy grain!"

As she spoke, Pia took a money pouch from behind her back and respectfully held it out to Davion.

"My lord, this is the money I found in Wes's room."

Davion took the pouch and hefted it in his hand.

He thought to himself:

Something's not right! If he was only skimming living expenses, how could he have embezzled more than seventy Gold Dragons? He must have had another source of income!

Davion shook his head and gave it no more thought.

The most important thing today was to pay House Vance a visit.

A sizable sum of Gold Dragons was waiting there for him to collect.

After finishing his meal, Davion went to Harrenhal's armory.

Calling this room an "armory" was no longer very appropriate.

It was empty, apart from a few spears, a few swords, and a pile of rusty, long-ruined armor heaped in a corner.

Though he had been prepared for it, Davion still sighed helplessly at the sight of this junk.

In the end, he dug a one-handed sword without a scabbard out of the rubbish. It was barely usable.

There was also a battered shield painted with the sigil of House Whent.

He could just make out its golden field, with nine bats arranged neatly across it.

As for the plate armor, it was so badly corroded that it was utterly useless.

Davion could only find a sleeveless mail shirt and pull it on.

Davion had been brimming with confidence about teaching House Vance a lesson, but looking at the rags and scraps he wore, he immediately lost well over half of it.

But the thought of the rich rewards awaiting him after defeating House Vance rekindled Davion's motivation.

Just as Davion stepped out of the armory, he saw Vereword and Pia jogging toward him, their faces tense.

Vereword spoke first.

"My lord Earl, what are you going to do?"

Davion tapped his shield with his sword.

"Go and demand justice from that damned House Vance, of course."

Both Vereword and Pia wore expressions that said, "Just as I thought."

Vereword said urgently:

"My lord Earl, your wounds have only just healed. You should rest a few more days before going."

Vereword knew something of tact and did not say outright that Davion was frail and doing something like this would amount to seeking his own death.

Pia was much more direct, however, and chimed in:

"Yes, my lord Earl! Besides, you won't gain anything by going to House Vance like this. Don't get hurt again!"

Davion knew perfectly well that he was now practically half-invincible.

The clearest indication was his three attributes.

Strength 24, agility 16, intelligence 20.

Then there were the attributes provided by his two bracers.

[Bracer: +strength: 5

+agility: 2

+intelligence: 2

+health regeneration: 0.75

+health: 50]

Davion's attributes thus became: strength 34, agility 20, intelligence 24.

From his brief interaction with Vereword the night before, Davion had vaguely sensed that Vereword's strength attribute could not possibly exceed 8.

In strength alone, he was already four times as strong as a bona fide knight.

That gap grew exponentially as the multiplier increased.

Although Davion's combat skills were currently quite lacking.

He might still get injured.

But he had already used both remaining Tango charges, and two emerald-green leaves now lay in his inventory, ready to be taken out and used at any time.

(Tango came in sets of three. After using one, two remained. Once all were used, it went on cooldown.)

And as his very last resort, Davion still had his trump card: Dragon Blood.

Even if Dragon Blood was only as powerful as it was in the game, it would still be enough to melt steel.

Those fools in House Vance would never be able to withstand it.

But Davion could not tell Vereword that. They would only think their lord had gone mad.

Davion chuckled and said:

"I was joking! I'm just going out to practice my fighting skills and buy some grain at the market while I'm at it."

The simple-hearted Pia believed him at once.

Only Vereword continued to stare at Davion suspiciously.

"Don't worry, Ser Ward! I won't gamble with my own life."

"Pia, hurry and help Ser Ward back to his room to recover."

Looking into Davion's sincere eyes, Vereword believed him somewhat.

But he still said:

"My lord Earl, if you insist on going to take revenge, you must bring me along! I am always ready to give my life for House Whent."

Davion sighed inwardly:

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now that's a fucking knight! That's what a real fucking knight is! If I become king someday, I'll damn well make you a lord!