Chapter 12 A Bastard Sword

  "But this is the heraldic sword of the Lannister family," Ian gently stroked the golden lion head at the end of the sword hilt, which vividly displayed its domineering power, and twitched the corner of his mouth.

  "A sword belonging to a brother in black," Eton 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 Watch member?"

  "Exactly."

  "Then what is the relationship between this Night's Watchman and that Doville?"

  "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, Doville will also provide you with some support. I should have said it before; he is a senior ranger."

  Ian's eyes widened. 3 golden dragons as a commission? Are you that rich? Ian looked around subconsciously, and the thought of ransacking the blacksmith shop briefly crossed his mind.

  But the next second, he dismissed this idea. This was Harrenhal's central square, and causing trouble here would be foolish.

  "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 to himself, "I should have told you earlier that I have no honor."

  After receiving Ian's reply, the old blacksmith smiled and handed him 6 golden dragons and 120 silver stags, including 3 golden dragons as the commission for the sword delivery mission, and the rest as Ian's income from selling equipment.

  Ian placed all the coins in his bag, left the blacksmith shop, and retrieved his horse.

  Reflecting on the mission he had just accepted, Ian couldn't help but smile wryly.

  If he hadn't planned to head to the salt farm to hunt the merchant players, he wouldn't have taken on such a bizarre mission! An unknown blacksmith in Harrenhal suddenly possessed a Lannister heraldic sword and wanted to entrust it to a Night's Watch member? Moreover, he claimed that this sword once belonged to a Night's Watch member.

  There were too many unanswered questions, including the relationship between the original owner of the sword and Doville, their connections to the Lannister family, and the obvious link between the sword's owner and Doville, both being members of the Night's Watch. How could this sword have made such a convoluted journey and ended up in the hands of a Harrenhal blacksmith?

  If Ian were sitting in front of a computer screen playing a game right now, as an experienced plot investigator, he might be eager to uncover all the secrets. But currently, he believed his sanity was still intact.

  Secrets often came with danger, especially when it concerned the Lannister family. He was worried that he might become entangled in a family secret without realizing it.

  Shaking his head, Ian refocused his attention on the heraldic sword he had temporarily acquired.

  This was indeed a substantial gain!

  Setting aside its craftsmanship, the most valuable part of the sword was the meticulously crafted golden lion head, a true work of art. However, this symbol, the Lannister family's sigil, represented wealth, power, and prestige.

  In a world where sigils represented identity, it was nearly unheard of for someone outside the family to brandish another house's sigil, especially one as prominent as the Lannisters.

  In other words, this sword was not just valuable; it was incredibly conspicuous.

  "Perhaps that's why the old blacksmith was willing to entrust me with the sword so easily?" Ian pondered. He had wondered why the old blacksmith had believed him so readily.

  At that time, Ian had concluded that the old blacksmith believed the story he concocted about 'joining the Night's Watch.' After all, from the old blacksmith's perspective, a typical mercenary knight wouldn't sell his armor or lie to a blacksmith. Thus, the old blacksmith was fairly certain that Ian was telling the truth.

  For an "honorable and filial knight" who "swore an oath on his honor," "voluntarily donned the black cloak," and "left all his money to his parents before leaving," why would he seem untrustworthy? Or so the logic went.

  However, it now seemed that the old blacksmith had been confident in Ian's inability to sell the sword. It was possible that the old blacksmith believed that no one would purchase the sword due to its notoriety.

  "Why should I even try to sell the sword?" Ian questioned himself. "Isn't my primary goal to change my starting characteristics and assume an identity that no player would expect? After all, what identity in this world is less likely for a player to adopt than a knight from the Lannister family?"

  Ian contemplated this for a moment. "Is there a player who would choose to be a Lannister knight? I doubt it. Therefore, I have a unique opportunity to assume a Lannister identity."

  To achieve this, all he needed was a set of fine clothes, a better horse, and he could perfectly impersonate a Lannister knight.

  But he realized that there was still a potential issue. He needed a backstory to explain his identity if other players asked about his family or origins.

  "Unless I pretend to be a bastard," Ian mused. "After all, who guards their personal history more closely than a bastard?"

  In this world, as long as he introduced himself with a surname like Snow or Rivers, people wouldn't inquire further into his background. Unless they were looking for trouble, as using the term "bastard" or "Snow" often led to confrontations. But for most situations, no one asked further questions.

  Moreover, players didn't have the option to choose to be a bastard during character creation.   Following the usual line of thought that players should use their own backgrounds to create their characters' identities, no player would suspect someone to be a bastard.

  "Ian Hisham, the illegitimate son of a prominent Lannister figure. Due to the potential scandal, I can't reveal my father's name," Ian thought, convinced that this would be the perfect cover story.

  He then headed towards a nearby tailor shop, contemplating how to proceed with his new identity.