It was deep into the night when Ian and his companions finally arrived at their destination.
The Crossroads Inn sat at the junction where the north-south King's Road intersected with the east-west River Road and the Valley Road. It was a modest three-story structure, topped with a white stone chimney.
To the north of the inn stood a thatched cow shed and a bell tower, with the entire building enclosed by a crumbling white stone wall.
The southern wing of the inn was built on stilts over a patch of overgrown weeds. This weed-choked area used to be a tributary of the Greenfork River, and at the time of its construction, half the inn stood over the water. Only after the river changed course did the surroundings become what they are today.
The Crossroads Inn carried deep historical significance. It was said to have been built during the reign of King Jaehaerys I, the fourth monarch of the Targaryen dynasty. At one point, both Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne had stayed there, prompting the inn to be renamed "The Twin Crowns Inn" in their honor.
Later, as ownership changed hands, the addition of a bell tower earned it the name "The Bellring Inn."
Still later, when Ser Jon Hyde came into possession of the inn, he personally forged a new signboard—depicting a three-headed black dragon cast from dark iron. Whenever the wind blew, the sign would chime with a metallic clang, and so it became known as "The Ringing Dragon Inn."
This name stuck until the time of the Blackfyre Rebellion, when the sign was removed and the name fell out of use.
The Blackfyre Rebellion of 195 AC¹ was a brutal civil war sparked by a succession crisis within the Targaryen family, second only to the Dance of the Dragons.
The crisis began when King Aegon IV, also known as "Aegon the Unworthy," legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. This act granted his many highborn illegitimate children legal claims to the Iron Throne.
To make things worse, Aegon IV had always harbored suspicion that his wife had never let go of her feelings for his brother—whom she had once been betrothed to before Aegon snatched her away. Out of spite, he had even publicly declared their son and heir, Daeron Targaryen, to be the bastard child of his queen and his brother. (Honestly, who was he trying to humiliate with that?)
In the wake of his death, many nobles, discontent with the state of the realm, seized on this controversy. They questioned the legitimacy of King Daeron II and instead threw their support behind Aegon IV's eldest bastard, Daemon Blackfyre.
And truthfully, Daemon Blackfyre was impressive—not only absurdly handsome, but also a peerless warrior. Those who had witnessed him in combat called him "the Warrior incarnate."²
At just twelve years old, Daemon had defeated all challengers in a melee tournament. Right then and there, Aegon IV acknowledged him as his son, knighted him (making him the youngest knight in the history of the Seven Kingdoms), and gifted him the ancestral Targaryen Valyrian steel sword: Blackfyre, the blade once wielded by Aegon the Conqueror.³ From then on, Daemon took "Blackfyre" as his surname.
When Daemon launched his rebellion, he inverted the Targaryen banner, changing the black dragon on red into a red dragon on black, creating a new sigil for House Blackfyre.
But this did not sit well with Lord Darry, a staunch supporter of King Daeron II and the local liege lord. Enraged by the inn's black dragon sign—now reminiscent of the rebel banner—he had it torn down, hacked to pieces, and thrown into the river.
Daemon Blackfyre would later fall at the Battle of the Redgrass Field, brought down by the arrows of Brynden Rivers and his Raven's Teeth. Thus ended the first Blackfyre Rebellion in failure.
Since then, no new signboard was ever raised at the inn. It became nameless, and the locals simply called it either "The Riverbank Inn" or "The Crossroads Inn," depending on which kaise they preferred.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Crossroads Inn is a notable and symbolic location, serving as the backdrop to many important events.
That's why Ian had guessed from the beginning that this would be the likely rendezvous point agreed upon by the players.
As they neared the inn, Ian could feel his nerves tightening.
Even though he knew his disguise was nearly flawless and that the power he wielded could crush any newbie player with ease, he still felt tense.
It was late, and the innkeeper and her staff had likely gone to bed. When Ian and his group reached the door, no one came out to take their horses.
They had no choice but to knock and wait for someone to respond.
It wasn't until Rore knocked for the third time that a woman's lazy voice finally came from within. From her tone, it was clear she wasn't pleased about guests arriving at this hour.
Ian heard the woman's grumbling grow louder as she approached the door.
To be clear, it wasn't angry cursing—just the kind of tired, harmless muttering people do when they're woken up in the middle of the night.
The door opened to reveal a plump middle-aged woman with an unfortunate face. Ian immediately guessed this was the innkeeper, Martha Hyde .
The moment she saw the three of them, her complaints died in her throat. She had never imagined that the late-night guests knocking at her door would be three gods-damned knights.
The Hyde family once had knights of their own. Their ancestor, Jon Hyde —the one who first acquired this inn—had been a knight. But after the last knight of the Hyde line died in the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, the family was noble in name only, otherwise no different from commoners.
"M-my apologies, my lords," Martha stammered, clearly shaken by her earlier grumbling. Before she could dig herself deeper, Ian stepped in to smooth things over.
"Prepare a large empty room for us," he ordered, "and bring your best food and drink."
"Of course, my lords—right away." Martha let out a sigh of relief and quickly agreed. She motioned to a maid, who had only just stumbled out after her, to show Ian and his companions to their room.
Though Martha couldn't understand why these knights would choose a communal room typically reserved for common folk—where a dozen or more could sleep on straw mats laid out on the floor—she knew better than to ask.
After issuing instructions to wake the help and start the kitchen fire, she bustled off.
Led by the maid, Ian and his companions entered their room. The entire inn was quiet, the fire in the hearth long since extinguished. The main hall was deserted. If Ian wanted to find out whether any other players had arrived, he'd have to wait until morning.
Ian paid the maid extra for two oil lamps, which he hung up in the room, filling the space with warm light.
Though it was called a "large room," it was anything but.
Twelve straw mats were laid out in two neat rows, taking up more than ninety percent of the available space. Only a narrow strip down the middle remained, just wide enough for a single person to walk through.
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Footnotes:
1. The Blackfyre Rebellion mentioned here refers to the first one launched by Daemon Blackfyre. In total, there were five such rebellions (counting the War of the Ninepenny Kings).
2. "The Warrior" is one of the Seven Gods in the Faith of the Seven, symbolizing strength and victory. He is depicted as a man with a sword.
3. Valyrian steel is a magical metal forged by the ancient Valyrians. It is incredibly sharp, lightweight, and imbued with fire magic.