Colin Mott, despite being unable to go out due to his health, had heard about the legendary figure who had been most talked about in King's Landing these past two days.
He just thought the rumors about the Bear Hunter were a bit too exaggerated; after all, a single person slaying a hundred in an arena sounded like a myth, hard to believe.
However, now seeing Lynd wield a Greatsword and demonstrate his swordsmanship, he gradually began to believe that this person could indeed achieve a hundred kills, and perhaps even a thousand kills would be no problem. The monstrous strength Lynd displayed also made him think of someone: Gregor Clegane, the Mountain.
Lynd ignored their gazes, pointed at the two Greatswords, and said, "I'll take these two swords. Also, get them a pair of good scabbards and two sets of sword belts. One set will be a waist belt for these Greatswords, and the other will be a shoulder strap for my two broad-bladed hand-and-a-half swords."
The blacksmith's servant hadn't yet come to his senses, so Colin reached out and patted his servant's back, saying, "What are you standing around for? Go do as Lord Lynd instructed! For the scabbards and sword belts, go find Golden Tooth Pero; he has the best leather goods."
After hearing this, the servant first helped Colin sit down on a nearby chair, then called a few people to take down the Greatswords, carry them out of the blacksmith's shop, and head towards the street where the leather goods shop was located.
Lynd had temporarily solved the problem of temporary weapons and remembered his other purpose for coming here, so he asked Colin, "Since you were once the best blacksmith in King's Landing, you must know about Valyrian steel, right?"
Colin replied, "Of course, even if I wasn't the best blacksmith in King's Landing, I would still know about Valyrian steel."
"Then do you know where I can get Valyrian steel?" Lynd asked very directly.
Colin paused, then asked in return, "My Lord, do you know how many Valyrian steel swords there are in the Seven Kingdoms?"
"Not clear, but probably not many," Lynd replied.
"Yes, indeed, not many, my Lord," Colin nodded, his voice low. "Over the years, there have only been a few swords forged from Valyrian steel. Every great noble hopes to obtain a weapon made of Valyrian steel. Your liege, House Tyrell, has also hoped to obtain a Valyrian steel sword for many years, but they still haven't. Now you ask me where to get Valyrian steel; how do you think I should answer, my esteemed Lord?"
Lynd did not respond, a faint feeling in his heart that the difficulty of simultaneously owning Valyrian steel weapons and armor seemed too great.
Colin continued, "And even if you find Valyrian steel, how would you reforge it? You must know that smelting and forging Valyrian steel is a very profound craft. It is said that after the fall of Valyria, this craft was lost. Even on the continent of Essos across the Narrow Sea, it's hard to find anyone who understands this craft, let alone on the continent of Westeros. So, whether you want to forge weapons or make armor from Valyrian steel, it's almost impossible to do."
"Is there really no way at all?" Lynd asked, somewhat unwilling.
Colin thought for a moment, then said, "If you simply want to obtain Valyrian steel, you might find it at the Citadel, and perhaps someone at the Citadel knows the method for forging Valyrian steel, because some Maesters of the Citadel, after achieving success in their studies, forge a Valyrian steel chain link."
Upon hearing this, Lynd couldn't help but roll his eyes. Although he had considered going to the Citadel, he intended to go there more to learn the knowledge of this world, not to acquire Valyrian steel.
He could imagine that the Citadel would surely regard Valyrian steel and its smelting and forging techniques as their most secret and valuable knowledge. If he were to meddle with such secret knowledge, he would only offend the Citadel, and then he would truly be unable to move an inch in the Seven Kingdoms.
Across the entire continent of Westeros, there were two major powers that one absolutely could not offend: one was the Seven, which controlled faith, and the other was the Citadel, which controlled knowledge. Especially the Citadel; they could subtly influence their employers' decisions through the Maesters who became noble advisors. This silent influence was the most deadly.
Lynd thought about the information regarding Valyrian steel in his memory and said in a deep voice, "I know that in the Free Cities of Essos, there is a city that has mastered the craft of reforging Valyrian steel. That city might have enough Valyrian steel, but I don't remember the name of that city..."
"You're talking about Kohor, the city of mages, Kohor," Colin proactively stated the city's name and added, "My son, Tob Mott, is currently studying forging techniques in that city and should be returning this year to inherit my blacksmith's shop. He may have learned how to reforge Valyrian steel. If you can find enough Valyrian steel then, perhaps he can help you reforge it into the weapon or armor you desire."
Upon hearing this, Lynd's previously blurred memories immediately became much clearer. He recalled a forum post he had seen in his previous life discussing the various city-states, and Kohor was mentioned in it.
However, there wasn't much content related to Kohor; he only knew that its people were called the Lesser Valyrians, and it was highly probable that a large number of Valyrian survivors resided there. Therefore, that city had also mastered a good deal of Valyrian knowledge, and the technique for reforging Valyrian steel should be one of them.
However, that city did not possess the knowledge of makingValyrian steel, because if they truly had mastered the knowledge of manufacturing Valyrian steel, then their exported goods would certainly include various items made of Valyrian steel, and Valyrian steel weapons in Westeros would not be so rare.
Furthermore, he also realized that Colin's son, Tob Mott, was very likely the blacksmith in King's Landing who, over a decade later, would help Lord Tywin re-melt Ice into two Valyrian steel swords. This was undoubtedly good news for him.
Although he hadn't found any clues on how to acquire Valyrian steel, at least he knew who could help him forge Valyrian steel weapons and armor, which was still good.
Since he couldn't get any other useful information here, Lynd had no intention of staying longer. After paying for the two swords and their scabbards and other accessories, he asked Colin to have someone deliver the items to House Tyrell's camp outside the city.
After leaving the blacksmith's shop, Lynd didn't immediately return to the camp. Instead, he led Raul on a stroll through King's Landing. He had been in King's Landing for several days but had never truly taken a good look at the city.
Although King's Landing was known as a city built on excrement and urine, with the Westerlands army's looting and slaughter a year ago, the population had sharply decreased. In the past year, Lord Jon Arryn had tirelessly rebuilt King's Landing, significantly improving the city's environment. At least the main streets and some alleys in the major districts were relatively clean, and there wasn't too much foul odor in the air, much better than the slums outside the city.
However, as a large number of people poured into King's Landing, the city's environment would gradually return to its original state, just as Flea Bottom was currently reverting to its former self.
After circling the city's main streets, darkness had completely fallen. Lynd had lost his novelty for the city and decided to visit the Dragonpit to get a sufficient supply of Dragonflame Dragonglass for a long time, then return to the camp.
However, just as he entered Silent Sisters Street and walked some distance towards the Dragonpit, a small girl suddenly rushed out of a nearby alley, came before Lynd, and bowed to him, saying, "My Lord, someone wishes to see you."
Lynd looked at the girl and realized she was the same small girl who had led him to the tavern earlier. Now, hearing her words, Lynd immediately thought of Varys.
After a slight hesitation, Lynd turned and instructed Raul to return to the camp first, then he let the small girl lead the way.
The small girl did not lead Lynd into a nearby alley but continued straight along Silent Sisters Street, heading precisely in the direction Lynd had intended to go, towards the Dragonpit.
The two moved quickly, one after the other, and soon they ascended Rhaenys's Hill, standing before the ruins of a massive domed structure.
Lynd looked up at the building before him, his expression becoming serious, and a hint of apprehension appeared in his eyes.
Perhaps it was the effect of the Dragon Communion; not only had his body changed, but his extraordinary senses had also undergone some transformation. This change wasn't an enhancement of his senses but more like an endowment of some extraordinary power to them.
For example, this Dragonpit ruin was just a ruin in the eyes of others. Around the ruins, some commoners had built houses, and some prostitutes and their clients entered the ruins to frolic, completely unaware of the hidden dangers within these ruins.
But in Lynd's eyes, this ruin was enveloped by countless shadows, like masses of constantly shifting mud. Tormented faces appeared and disappeared within the shadows, and he could even see some dragon-shaped shadows moving through them, and hear those dragons letting out piercing screams.
Lynd had read about the Dragonpit in the books left by Maester Holly. It had once been the site of an important holy sept of the Seven, later burned to ashes by Maegor I riding Black Death Bellerion. Everyone inside the sept was burned to death. Later, Maegor I converted it into the Dragonpit, specifically for raising the young dragons of the Targaryen family.
During the Dance of the Dragons, the Dragonpit was destroyed by a mob of starving commoners. All the dragons left inside the Dragonpit were killed, reportedly as many as five. Most of the commoners who besieged the Dragonpit were also burned to death in dragonflame and were completely buried underground when the Dragonpit's dome collapsed.
Later, these Dragonpit ruins were even used as a mass grave during the Great Sickness. All those who died from the plague and couldn't be buried in time were thrown into the Dragonpit, and some sick people who hadn't even died yet were also thrown in.
Because too many bodies accumulated, the Dragonpit was almost filled. To deal with these bodies, the King's Hand at the time had them incinerated with Wildfire. The towering flames ignited by the Wildfire burned for several days before finally extinguishing, and the towering flames could be seen even from outside King's Landing.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Dragonpit before him was a massive mass grave. Believers, commoners, warriors, and even dragons were buried here. The shadows Lynd saw now must be the resentful energy formed by the mixed souls of the people and dragons who died here.
The formation of this resentful energy might be related to the inherent magic of dragons. This resentful energy would not affect commoners; only individuals like Lynd, transformed by the Dragon Communion and particularly sensitive to special energies, could perceive it.
Just as Lynd was awestruck by the scene before him, he suddenly felt an intense hunger, as if the special energy formed by these vengeful spirits was a delicious meal.
"My Lord, what's wrong?" The small girl asked curiously, seeing the change in Lynd's expression.
Lynd didn't speak, merely motioned for the small girl to wait a moment, then carefully searched within himself to find the source of this inexplicable hunger.
He quickly discovered that this hunger did not seem to originate from himself but acted directly upon his spirit and will. Its source was not here, but in the House Tyrell camp outside King's Landing, emanating from Honor, who was confined in a cage.
Because at this moment, he and Honor seemed to share some kind of mental connection, so much so that when he saw these shadows, Honor could also sense them.
"Skinchanger?" Lynd immediately thought of a class of people in this world with special abilities, but he quickly dismissed the possibility of being a Skinchanger. He felt this might be related to Honor absorbing the residual dragon soul from the cracked Dragon Egg through his body that day.
Perhaps due to the intense hunger, Honor desperately gnawed at the iron cage confining him, and his bite force seemed to have become extremely strong, far exceeding that of a Shadowcat cub.
Soon, the iron cage was bitten open. Honor, having escaped the iron cage, transformed into a shadow and darted out of the tent. Unnoticed by others in the camp, he swiftly rushed out of the camp and sped towards Lynd's location.
Lynd did not try to break this connection but maintained it, then diverted a part of his attention to the confused little girl before him, signaling her to continue leading the way.
The small girl looked at Lynd, noticed his complexion had improved significantly, and so, carrying her confusion, she entered the Dragonpit through a damaged section of the ruins.
The two then moved through the narrow Dragonpit, gradually descending, likely having already gone deep underground into the hill. Finally, after passing through a narrow passage filled with bones, they arrived in a relatively open crypt.
From the remaining traces in the crypt, it was not difficult to see that it was originally part of an underground warehouse. On some stones, one could still see some religious symbols of the Seven Gods, suggesting that this was likely part of the burned sept.
"The Sept of Remembrance, built by one Targaryen and destroyed by another. Fate is truly strange, don't you agree, my Lord?"
Varys's voice emerged from the shadows of a corner, and then he himself stepped into the firelight.
Upon seeing Varys, the small girl bowed to him, then turned and left the way they came, leaving only Lynd and Varys in the underground ruins.