Chapter 156: Prophecy in the Flames
Pentos, North City Mercenary Camp
"The wives of Dorne are fair as the sun,
their kisses warmer than spring;
but the swords of Dorne are made of black steel—"
"Come here, Bronn, I need to speak with you." Black Falcon Dorian walked over to Bronn, who was drinking and singing with his fellow sellswords, and whispered in his ear, "Another job."
Bronn put down his cup and followed Dorian to a corner.
"Another job? I haven't even finished my last one yet," Bronn grumbled. "The duel doesn't start until tomorrow, and that bastard Suda's asking price is a thousand gold dragons. If your Ser Lucien wants me to switch sides, he'll have to give me three thousand, as we agreed."
"Whether it's a thousand or three thousand, you have to be alive to collect it, friend," Dorian scoffed. "Choosing the wrong side in tomorrow's duel is the same as throwing your life away, and do you really think Ser Lucien will be on the wrong side?"
"Seven hells," Bronn paused, then waved his hand. "Never mind that. What's the new job?"
"Ser Lucien said that you need to return to the company immediately after the match tomorrow. Then, no matter what orders we receive from above, after entering the western district, we drive straight to the harbor and wait for his next instructions. Oh, and he also told me to remind you that if you do this right, he'll give each of us a castle and make us lords."
"Well, alright, I'll do as you say. It's damned hard to refuse." Even with Bronn's greed, he couldn't say anything else. "Ser Lucien's generosity always exceeds my expectations."
After saying that, the two returned to the sellswords.
Their song continued:
"Brother, oh brother, my end is near,
the Dornishmen have taken my life,
but it matters not, all men must die,
for I have tasted a Dornishman's wife!"
At the Red Temple atop Pentos
"Welcome, my lord." Celia, having heard of Ian's visit, came to greet him personally at the entrance.
"You are truly radiant, my lady. It is my great honor to have your favor." Ian took Celia's outstretched hand and let her link arms with him.
"Why didn't I notice you were so courteous before?" Celia and Ian walked side by side.
"I am of humble birth and dared not presume," Ian said, pausing for a moment. "That's why I'm so curious about what you saw in the flames that made you so fond of me."
"My brother already told you—I fell in love with you at first sight. There's no other reason," Celia said with a smile. "However," she wasn't surprised by Ian's curiosity, "since you want to know what I saw in the flames, then please come with me, and I will show you."
With that, Celia took Ian's arm and led him into the temple. After passing through two corridors and a garden, they entered a chamber.
"Your bedchamber?" Ian looked around at the room's furnishings, finding it completely unlike what he'd expect of a woman's quarters. Of course, it would be strange if a Red Priestess's room looked ordinary.
Celia didn't answer, but simply slipped her arm from Ian's, took his hand, and led him to the stone table in the center of the room. Then she lit the brazier on the table with a torch.
"Just using torches to light a fire?"
"What else would I use?"
"I thought you fire priests could use spells or something."
"I've heard those legends too. Before the dragons went extinct, there were indeed high priests who knew the secrets of fire magic. Of course, even if they could, no one would waste magic to light a simple fire." Celia said, pointing to the already blazing flames. "What do you see?"
"What do you see?" Ian didn't answer, but asked instead.
"Look closely." Celia pressed even closer to Ian. He could smell her perfume, heady and exotic. Ian bent down slightly.
"The Lord of Light is giving us a prophecy," Celia continued. "In the flames, I saw the Long Night descend, endless corpses sweeping across the world, and their king wearing a crown of ice. I saw a thousand fire dragons and a thousand ice dragons battling in the sky, the heavens weeping blood. I saw the Night Lion's demonic assault upon the ground, and the alliance of men meeting them in the wilderness, their host magnificent beyond measure. I saw you—" Celia turned to meet Ian's eyes, "I saw you wielding Lightbringer, driving back the darkness in that frozen wasteland, ending the Long Night. I also saw...our child," Celia said, pushing Ian toward the table. "He will become the master of this world, ruling over all of humanity."
"Then do you know what I saw?" Ian's eyes, which had been glazed by the incense, suddenly cleared. He pressed Celia down onto the table instead.
"Didn't you see what I was describing? Those...visions?" Celia asked in surprise, her exceptionally beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
"No, I saw something else," Ian smiled. "I saw a little cheater who tells lies." As he said this, Ian could clearly feel the woman beneath him tremble.
"What are you talking about?" Celia looked at Ian with apparent confusion.
"What I saw in the flames—wasn't that what you asked me?" Ian lowered his head and kissed Celia's forehead.
"I just... don't quite understand your words." Celia smiled in response.
"It's alright. Just think of it as me telling you a bedtime story." Ian remained noncommittal.
"The first 'little cheater' was named Ginny Taymee. After arriving in Pentos, she first posted a notice at the Jomah Inn, successfully gathering two other 'little cheaters' through this message. Originally, there should have been three, but the appearance of Bounty Quest One made one of them back out, refusing to join the other 'little cheaters.' This also planted the seeds of a fatal problem for them.
"Then these 'little cheaters' developed their operations at the docks, even boarding ships of House Haucot, and successfully expanded their influence by participating in Pentos's crackdown on the slave trade.
"In the process, they also smuggled in their own resources, killing many players who rashly went to Illyrio's manse, gaining a large amount of points.
"At the same time, they concentrated all the points they gained on one of the 'little cheaters,' and had her quickly learn the Red God's magic skill." Ian paused.
"With this ability, she quickly gained the favor of Magister Haucot's daughter, Delif, in this era where magic had almost disappeared, and acquired the identity of 'the High Priestess's daughter who returned from years of study in Volantis' at the Red Temple.
"To avoid suspicion from other players, she lied, claiming she had returned to Pentos a year ago but had been in seclusion in the inner sanctum. This way, even if players started screening those who had suddenly appeared in Pentos in the last three months, they would overlook her.
"After all, there were too many people who fit the criteria. Unless suspicion had already been raised, who would bother to investigate a priestess with such an apparently legitimate background?"
It's the same principle as Ian Rivers and Lucien Lannister—these two identities are completely unconnected, and no one would think to link them.
But if someone did become suspicious, it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny.
Celia tried to get up, but Ian firmly pushed her back onto the table.
"You shouldn't—" Celia gasped, "you shouldn't be so rough. I'm Prince Hazan's sister! Lady Marian's daughter!"
"Shh," Ian gently placed a finger on Celia's lips. "I'll mention that later, but until then, please listen quietly as I finish telling you the story of the little cheater."
Celia stopped speaking, but Ian could feel her trembling uncontrollably.
"Then disaster struck unexpectedly. Although Ginny Taymee only intended to use this name once—it was just a quick arrangement of Valyrian sounds—she didn't think anyone outside her agreed-upon allies would notice it, and she changed her name immediately after reuniting with them.
"But what she didn't know was that the agreed-upon ally who hadn't come to meet them was already watching them from the shadows."
(End of Chapter)
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