Game of Thrones: Royal Game

Chapter 13 The Stables at Harrenhal
A young blond aristocrat came out of the tailor shop.

He was wearing a dark purple hunting jacket made of exquisite brocade and velvet. On the left shoulder hung a shawl made of silver thread and soft red gold thread. The lining and the surface are two kinds of high-quality fabrics that display distinct layers.

Around his waist was a gilded sash striped with flowers, from which hung an elaborate Lannister heraldic sword.

It is said that this set of hunting clothes once belonged to a certain sworn knight of the He'an family, but now it is sold in this tailor shop that directly belongs to Mrs. He'an. It can only be said that fate is unpredictable.

Since the He'an family sealed Harrenhal in 281AC, the He'an family was once one of the most prominent families in the riverlands, and the most powerful vassals in the riverlands.

In the year they got Harrenhal, the Earl of Hean held a grand tournament here, and the crown prince Rhaegar Targaryen (Dragon Ma's eldest brother) won the jousting champion .

But then he urged his horse to run past his wife, Princess Elia of the Dorne Martell family, and placed the laurel wreath woven of winter snow roses, symbolizing the 'Queen of Love and Beauty' Lyanna Stark, who was betrothed by Duke Robert Baratheon (now King on the Iron Throne), caused a huge scandal.

Shortly afterwards, Lyanna was suspected of being kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar. Lyanna's father and brother were buried in the hands of the 'mad king' Aerys II Targaryen because they wanted to seek justice for this.

In the following year, 282AC, the "Usurper's War" that changed the pattern of the Westeros continent broke out. Jon Arryn, Duke of the Eagle's Nest City, Lord of the Valley, held up the rebellion flag and elected Robert Baratheon as the leader of the rebellion. It took two years to unite the Stark family in the north, the Tully family in the river and the Baratheon family in the storm to overthrow the Targaryen dynasty that had ruled Westeros for nearly 300 years.

And the He'an family in Harrenhal lost most of their power because they wrongly sided with the royalists.

To this day, the ruler of Harrenhal, the Countess Hean, can only activate a small part of the halls of Harrenhal, and her troops are no more than a few hundred people.

Many weapons, armors, costumes, and jewels that once belonged to the knights and wives of the Hean family are now sold in these properties directly belonging to the Countess of Hean to subsidize the Hean family's growing financial difficulties. .

In order to buy this well-fitting hunting suit and that belt, Ian spent 5 gold dragons and 180 silver stag foreheads, praising the old blacksmith.

In short, in order to make his image look more like a real nobleman, Ian has spent most of his funds.

Therefore, he has become a bit stretched because he still needs to change to a good horse.

Leading his own horse to the stables of Harrenhal, Ian began to think about whether it was possible for him to borrow a good horse from Mrs. He'an's stable master by virtue of his status as a noble Lannister knight.

After all, Lannister, as the wealthiest family in Westeros, has always had the motto of 'A Lannister must pay his debts'. As long as he raises the return a little higher, maybe he can really borrow a good horse.

After showing his status as a Lannister knight to the stable guards, Ian successfully obtained permission to enter the stables.

Walking into the empty stables of Harrenhal, Ian suddenly felt a sense of loneliness in his heart.

This itself is a very huge building, judging from its size and the number of mangers, it may not be a problem to accommodate a thousand horses.

But today it seems that less than one-tenth of it is still in use, and about 30 or so horses are bred in a corner, which is counted as the last proof that the Hean family in Harrenhal still exists.

Ian once went to Europe to visit the stables of an ancient castle. According to the introduction of the tour guide, in that stable, there used to be special rooms for storing special hunting coats, riding boots, fine wine, vinegar, olives, oil ointment, etc. The chambers were used to store horse armor, coats of arms painted with coats of arms, hunting bows and other weapons.

In the area dedicated to war horses, there are not only high-quality wheat as food, but also slots for oil lamps. Every winter, the stable steward will light oil lamps to heat the war horses.

Such a stable is more like a small barracks, where the noble knights can be armed at any time in the stable, and they can also rest inside.

However, here, these functions have obviously been lost.

Ian's arrival caught the attention of a groom who was pouring water into the manger. He quickly stopped what he was doing, and trotted all the way to Ian.

"Hey, that home, sir," he recognized Ian's extraordinary appearance from the clothes on his body as soon as he opened his mouth, so he quickly changed his words, "Sorry, sir, this is the private stable of the Countess of Hean. Forbidden."

"Of course, I know where this is, but I still came in, didn't I?" Ian deliberately turned sideways, as if he was observing a brown tame horse beside him, but in fact he showed the side of his sword I gave it to the groom, hoping he can see it clearly.

"Oh, yes, sir." The groom replied in a daze, and then he remembered that there was a team of guards outside the stable, and the knight in front of him still came in, which meant that the other party had actually obtained license?
"I am Sir Lucian Lannister, the son of Sir Damion Lannister." Ian made up an identity for himself, and he can play more freely when facing the aborigines who are not players. .

"I don't know what orders you have come here, Sir?" The groom immediately asked respectfully when he heard Ian's name.

Although he had never heard of Ser Lucian Lannister, this did not prevent him from bowing his head to a knight.

"I want to temporarily foster my horse with you." Ian didn't directly reveal his purpose, he pointed to the tame horse he was leading, "Of course, I will pay for it."

"Of course, Sir, it's the villain's honor. I promise to take good care of your horse." The groom quickly agreed. It is one of their jobs to look after the horses of passing noble knights, and usually the knights pay a high fee. Maintenance fees for horses.

"At the same time, I also need to borrow a horse from you." Ian said at this time.

"Of course there is no problem, Sir, please take a look." The groom stretched out his hand and led Ian to the stable. He did not doubt that the Sir was a liar, after all, his own horse was also left here, right?
"I'm going to Maiden Springs to participate in the hunting held by William Mooton," Ian said, looking at the horses in the fence.

Most of the horses here are just ordinary riding horses, and there are only a few real large war horses.

Soon, he fell in love with one of the white horses at a glance.

According to Ian's visual inspection, its shoulder height exceeds 1.6 meters five. Compared with it, the Hejian horse he is leading, which is less than 1.4 meters high at the shoulder, can only be described as petite and cute.

"That's it, how about it?"

(End of this chapter)