The Lannister Sword
"But this is the heraldic sword of the Lannister family." Ian gently stroked the golden lion head at the end of the sword's hilt, which showed its domineering power vividly, and smirked.
"A sword belonging to the brothers in black," Eddard interrupted Ian and said seriously. "For the Night's Watch, the last name is meaningless."
"You mean this sword originally belonged to a certain Night's Watchman?"
"Exactly."
"Then what is the relationship between this watchman and that Dowell?"
"You don't need to know this." The old blacksmith shook his head. "If you accept this task, I can pay you a commission of 3 golden dragons, and after you join the Night's Watch, Dowell will also give you some special treatment. As I said before, he is a senior Ranger."
Damn it! 3 golden dragons as commission? Are you that rich? Ian looked around instinctively, the thought of ransacking the blacksmith shop flashing through his mind.
But the next second he abandoned this crazy idea.
This is the central square of Harrenhal! A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. No matter how the Harrenhal family has declined, he, a broken mercenary knight, can't shit on their heads.
"Okay," Ian put the heraldic sword back into its scabbard, hung it on his waist, and said seriously, "Deal. I promise to deliver the sword, and I swear on my honor." He chuckled. "Although I just told you I have no honor."
After receiving Ian's reply, the old blacksmith smiled, then handed Ian 6 golden dragons and 120 silver stags in person. Three golden dragons were the commission for the sword delivery mission, and the rest was Ian's income from selling equipment.
Ian put all the coins into his pouch, walked out of the blacksmith shop, and collected his horse.
Thinking back on the mission he'd just accepted, Ian couldn't help but show a sarcastic smile.
Even if he hadn't planned to go to the salt farm to suppress the merchants, he wouldn't have taken such a weird mission!
Was this a joke? A Harrenhal blacksmith out of nowhere produced a Lannister heraldic sword and wanted to send it to a Night's Watchman? He also claimed this sword once belonged to a night watchman.
There were too many questions here, including the relationship between the sword's original owner and Dowell, their connection to the Lannister family, and how the sword could have traveled such a roundabout path to a blacksmith at Harrenhal when both the sword's owner and Dowell were members of the Night's Watch.
If Ian were sitting in front of a computer playing games right now, as a veteran plot enthusiast, he might have tried to uncover all the secrets inside.
But at the moment, he wasn't that foolish.
Secrets often come with danger, especially when related to the Lannister family. He worried he might end up buried alongside some family secret without even knowing it.
Shaking his head, Ian returned his attention to the heraldic sword he had just swindled and temporarily kept.
This was a real windfall!
Regardless of anything else, this Lannister heraldic sword was obviously worth a lot of money. Based on Ian's experience, its cost should be more than 10 golden dragons, and if sold, it would be worth at least twice that amount.
The only problem was how to sell the sword. Ian pondered this question.
Without question, apart from the excellent craftsmanship, the sword's most valuable part was the lifelike carved golden lion head, which could truly be called a work of art.
But this was the coat of arms of the Lannister family, the richest and most powerful family in Westeros. In this era where coats of arms essentially represented identity, there had almost never been a nobleman who forged another family's coat of arms.
Naturally, no one would be crazy enough to buy a Lannister heraldic sword.
In other words, although this sword was valuable, it was extremely hot merchandise.
"Perhaps that's why the old blacksmith dared to hand over the sword to me so easily?" Ian couldn't help but think.
He had wondered why the old blacksmith believed him so readily.
He concluded that the old blacksmith believed the story he had fabricated about "going to join the night watch."
After all, from the blacksmith's perspective, a normal mercenary knight wouldn't be selling armor, nor would he waste time lying to a blacksmith, so he was almost certain Ian was telling the truth.
And for an "upright and filial good knight" who "swore an oath on his honor" and "voluntarily put on black clothes" and "left all his money to his parents before leaving," why would the blacksmith worry?
Now it seemed the reason the old blacksmith dared to hand him the sword was because he was sure Ian couldn't sell it.
"Maybe I could just melt off the lion's head? No, that would work if it were pure gold. But if it's just gold-plated, wouldn't melting it make it worthless?" Ian rejected another idea.
"Wait, why do I have to sell the sword?" Ian suddenly raised his eyebrows. "Isn't my most important goal now to change my characteristics and pretend to be someone who couldn't possibly be a player?"
And what identity in this world would be less likely to belong to a player than a knight of the Lannister family?
This gold-plated heraldic sword was obviously the work of a master blacksmith from the castle. Even within the Lannister family, only those with a certain status were qualified to wear it.
This meant that at this moment, he had the key prop for pretending to be a Lannister.
Next, he only needed to get himself a set of fine clothes, then change to a better horse, and he could perfectly play the role of a Lannister knight.
But would this work alongside his role as a guard for Hammell's caravan?
"No, no, no, there are still flaws in this plan." Ian shook his head. "What I have to face aren't just common folk, but players who might question someone rashly pretending to be a member of the Lannister family. If they ask about my parents' names, it would cause a lot more trouble to lie."
Although they might not ask, what if they did? Would he refuse to answer with a grumpy look? Wouldn't that simply add to their suspicions?
So, was there any way to prevent this from happening?
Looking at the heraldic sword in his hand again, Ian smiled as an idea came to mind.
This was a bastard sword.
The bastard sword was the most common type of sword in Western movies and TV shows. It combined the characteristics of a knight's sword, the "cutting power" of a two-handed sword, and the "agility" of a broadsword. That's why it was called a bastard sword.
So why not pretend to be a bastard himself?
After all, who would be more secretive about their own life than an illegitimate child?
Normally, as long as you introduced your surname as Snow or Rivers [Note 1], no one would ask about your life experience.
Unless they wanted to continue the conversation with swords, because in the common tongue of Westeros (actually English), "bastard" referred to both the sword type and an illegitimate child. Asking a bastard about his life experience was almost the same as calling his mother a whore to his face.
This perfectly avoided the possibility of other players testing his specific identity.
Moreover, there was no illegitimate child option in the player's birth choices. According to the inertial thinking that players should use their own background stories to disguise their identities, it would be difficult for players to connect an illegitimate child with a player.
"Ian Hill is the illegitimate son of a big shot in the Lannister family. Because it concerns my father's reputation, I cannot name him." Thinking of this, Ian turned and walked toward a nearby tailor shop.
[Note 1: The illegitimate children of Westeros nobles have their surnames based on the place where they were born. The corresponding relationships are: Waters - Crownlands, Hill - Westerlands, Pyke - Iron Islands, Rivers - Riverlands, Sand - Dorne, Snow - North, Stone - Vale, Storm - Stormlands, Flowers - Reach]
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