Chapter 83: The Stranger's Curse
Although the original Sept of Remembrance was destroyed by Balerion the Black Dread's dragonfire, the destruction likely occurred primarily on the surface level.
Therefore, when the Dragonpit was constructed, the undestroyed crypts beneath the Sept of Remembrance were likely preserved, becoming part of the later Dragonpit's foundation.
These crypts, therefore, became the structures that fit the "sacred" clue within the Dragonpit ruins—a monument to death in King's Landing.
The secret passage leading to the treasure chest was located within the crypts that once belonged to the sept!
To verify his hypothesis, Ian immediately had his men confirm it.
He quickly received positive feedback. The over forty crypts explored by Dorian the Black Falcon displayed two distinct architectural styles and murals: one depicting the dragons and sorcery of Old Valyria, the other showing sacred imagery from Andal mythology and the Faith of the Seven.
This nearly confirmed Ian's suspicion, and he immediately organized and mapped the distribution of these crypts.
Finally, Ian identified two areas where the sept-style crypts were concentrated.
Within these two areas, the section buried by collapsed rubble was only about half the size of the intact area, representing approximately five or six crypts.
Ian then ordered the clearing of these buried crypts and the search for passages within.
He estimated that this process would take approximately five days.
At dusk that day, just as the clearing of rubble in the Dragonpit had begun, messengers arrived from both Ser Grantham's team operating at the harbor and the Foul Jester's team in Flea Bottom.
During dinner, Ian, who had just finished hauling stone, took a moment to meet with them.
"This is all we have here," Ian shared bread, salt, and ale with the two messengers. "I'll treat you to a proper meal after the operation is over," Ian said while eating. "So, who's going to speak first?"
"Let me go first," said the lieutenant of the 'turncoat' Ser Grantham, a bearded man whose name Ian couldn't recall. "We may have spotted a group of enemy reinforcements."
The cover story Ian had given when asking Grantham and the others to watch for ships from Pentos was that the traitors from the 'Laughing Lion' had been stranded in King's Landing, and since their previous operation had been based in Pentos, they might call for help from their companions there.
"When? How many were there?"
"This morning. A total of twelve well-equipped fighting men. As soon as they disembarked, Ser Grantham sent sailors from the Cinnamon Wind to approach them, but they didn't get any information. They were very cautious and didn't reveal their purpose in King's Landing.
Additionally, when our 'bait' passed in front of them, some of them kept staring, but ultimately didn't take action.
Then they entered the city. We sent men to discreetly follow them and found that they made their way to the Street of the Sisters and found an inn near Flea Bottom.
Shortly afterward, several of them entered Flea Bottom itself. Based on your previous description, this group is definitely the one you're looking for." Grantham's lieutenant delivered all the information in one breath, then hurriedly took a long gulp of ale.
Ser Grantham's judgment was correct. This group was undoubtedly a player team, though it was unclear whether they were a single party or a player alliance.
"Are you still keeping eyes on them?"
"Yes," Grantham's lieutenant nodded. "Ser Grantham has mobilized several men to watch the inn closely. As soon as you give the order, we can launch an attack at any time."
"Not yet, just keep watching them." Ian shook his head. The funeral of the former Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, had just concluded, and King's Landing wasn't completely settled. A brazen attack on an inn and the killing of a dozen men would be far too conspicuous.
Ian's most important task now was to find the chest quickly; everything else would have to wait until he was ready to leave King's Landing.
"What about you? What did you find? Did you locate the same group they did?" Ian turned to the Foul Jester's messenger.
"No, we have bad news."
"Bad news?" Ian raised an eyebrow. Given his plans, what could possibly be bad news?
"We also planted a 'bait' in Flea Bottom, following your instructions. His name was Bonn, dressed like a hedge knight. But Bonn was killed this afternoon." The messenger spoke with an uneasy expression.
"Has the murderer been caught?" Ian asked immediately.
The bait being killed meant someone had taken the bait, which wasn't necessarily bad news for Ian, as he had no personal attachment to these sellswords.
"No, ser," the messenger quickly shook his head. "We didn't see the murderer at all."
"What?" Ian kept his expression neutral, maintaining his composure. "Explain."
"Yes, ser," the messenger paused, as if recalling the events or perhaps choosing his words carefully. "Bonn was alone in his rented room at the time."
"Alone? Out of sight?" Ian interrupted.
"Oh, ser, if the 'bait' stays where people can see him constantly, you won't catch any fish. We did this at the crossroads inn, so we have experience," the messenger explained quickly.
"So how did you deploy your forces?" Ian asked, remembering that these men had brought him several kills at the crossroads, though he hadn't asked for details about their methods.
"First, we separated from Bonn before entering Flea Bottom. We split into four groups, each watching different sections of his area to avoid being noticed."
"Not bad," Ian commented.
"And Bonn himself was responsible for wandering around Flea Bottom in his gear, returning to his rented room periodically, giving the impression that he was sometimes alone and vulnerable. We chose to have the 'bait' rent a room instead of staying at an inn because inns are crowded and it's harder to lower an enemy's guard."
"So how did you keep watch on him when he was alone?"
"The room we chose for Bonn is in a dead-end alley with only one entrance. We had men stationed at the alley entrance and in another room inside the alley. If any suspicious person followed Bonn into the alley, we would spot them immediately," the messenger explained.
"But Bonn was killed, and you didn't see the murderer? Were your men asleep?"
"No suspicious person entered the alley at that time—seven hells, absolutely not! It was the Stranger's curse!" The messenger became agitated.
"The Stranger's curse?" What in seven hells was that?
(End of Chapter)
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